Smithsonian appoints Maria Nicanor and Jorge Zamanillo as directors

The Smithsonian Institution has appointed two new directors for its museums in New York and Washington, D.C. Maria Nicanor, currently executive director of the Rice Design Alliance at Rice University's School of Architecture in Houston, will lead the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, succeeding Caroline Baumann who resigned in 2020. Nicanor acknowledged the challenging times for museums, emphasizing the need to reconsider their purpose and methods. Meanwhile, Jorge Zamanillo, executive director of HistoryMiami Museum, has been named founding director of the National Museum of the American Latino, a forthcoming institution dedicated to showcasing Latino contributions to U.S. art, history, and culture. Zamanillo stressed that the Latino experience is integral to American history and that the museum will preserve stories of adversity and resilience.