Beatrice von Bormann will be the new director of Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle as of 1 January. The Dutch art historian is currently a curator at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. The museum announced this in a press release on Monday.
Bormann succeeds interim director Rob Zuidema, who temporarily replaced director Ralph Keuning. Keuning resigned in June after investigators determined that safety in the workplace had been jeopardized by his leadership style.
There is much to recover. There is old soreness in the organization. By having a lot of conversations I hope to provide peace
She embarks on an “exciting task,” says von Bormann in a telephone conversation. “There is a lot to fix. There is old soreness in the organization. By having a lot of conversations, I hope to provide peace of mind.” Initial conversations with representatives of the fifty staff members make her optimistic: “Everyone is looking forward to a new start.” Von Bormann says about her leadership style: “I want to program as a team, not on my own. We have to move towards a new future together.”
Von Bormann (53) has been Head of Collections and curator at the Museum der Moderne in Salzburg since 2014. In 2017 she transferred to the Stedelijk. As curator for the period 1860-1960 she was involved in an exhibition in Amsterdam about the Austrian artist Maria Lassnig, the exhibition Kirchner and Nolde: Expressionism. Colonialism and various collection arrangements.
External advisor
Ralph Keuning will remain attached to De Fundatie as an external advisor for the time being, says Von Bormann. “He is not involved in programming and personnel policy. The well-being of the staff is paramount.” The former director will mainly focus on the Rode Loper in Zwolle, next to the main location in Zwolle and Kasteel het Nijenhuis in Wijhe, the future third location of the museum. Von Bormann: “Thanks to his extensive knowledge of and experience with the museum, Keuning is also an important discussion partner for me.”
Due to his extensive knowledge of and experience with the museum, Keuning is also an important discussion partner for me
According to Von Bormann, De Fundatie, which grew to about 250,000 visitors a year with public-friendly exhibitions in fifteen years’ time, has a ‘small but beautiful collection with many possibilities for exhibitions’. But for necessary new perspectives, says the future director, loans will be needed. “The collection consists for 90 percent of art by male white artists.”
De Fundatie’s programming is fixed until the middle of next year. After that, Von Bormann wants to ‘adjust’. She does not want to mention concrete exhibition ideas, “It is still too early for that”. She does promise more art from Central and Eastern Europe, more non-European art and more female artists.