SAINT LOUIS, MO.- The Laumeier Sculpture Park Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Marilu Knode as Laumeier’s new Executive Director. Following an expansive national search, several finalists were identified and interviewed. Ms. Knode’s extensive experience and vision best aligned with Laumeier’s current standing and future objectives. She will begin her tenure on September 14, 2009.
“Marilu is coming to us with a very impressive resume, and we are confident that she will bring a fresh energetic approach to her position at Laumeier,” said Board Chair John Wuest . The Park’s Board governs the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which operates in partnership with St. Louis County Parks. Lindsey Swanick, St. Louis County Parks Director added her support, “St. Louis County Parks looks forward to working with Marilu Knode. Her qualifications, engaging personality and quick appreciation of the unique nature of Laumeier will be an asset to its mission as an art institution and a County Park .”
Laumeier’s Executive Director also serves a joint-appointment with the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Two faculty members of the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the University were on the search committee. “We are delighted that Marilu Knode will be joining us at the University of Missouri-St. Louis as the Aronson Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art, complementing her work as the new Executive Director of Laumeier Sculpture Park,” said John Hylton, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication. “Marilu possesses an impressive background of research, curatorial, and administrative experience that will greatly benefit both institutions.”
Marilu Knode, 49, currently serves as Associate Director / Head of Research at F.A.R. (Future Arts Research) at Arizona State University . Working at F.A.R. since October 2007, Knode has commissioned special projects, performances and panels as well as organized international research and “action-oriented artist residencies” in Phoenix . She has been particularly interested in connecting with artists and scholars in other desert regions around the world.
“I am thrilled to be joining this unique institution for all the dynamic and forward-thinking exhibition and curatorial opportunities it presents. Laumeier is truly a part of the community, and with the board and the staff, I will work to deepen Laumeier's commitment to the region while broadening its participation in the international arts community,” said Knode.
After receiving a BA in Art History from the University of Kansas in 1980 and her MA in Museum Studies from City College of New York in 1984, Knode has served as Senior Curator at important institutions including the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (2003 - 2007) and the Institute of Visual Arts (inova) at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (1997 - 2003).
For more than two decades, Ms. Knode has worked in curatorial departments at several arts organizations including The Museum of Modern Art ( New York ), the Newport Harbor Art Museum ( Newport Beach , California ), and the Huntington Beach Art Center ( Huntington Beach , California ). She has also organized independent projects for various arts organizations on the West Coast. She was the U.S. Commissioner for the 7th International Cairo Biennale (with artist Nancy Spero), and conducted extensive research, travel and lectures in the Middle East . She has organized exhibitions on artists Ghada Amer, Andrea Bowers, Tony Cragg, Kim Dingle, Yoshitomo Nara, Bernadette Searle, Michael Smith, Pascale Marthine Tayou, and Fred Tomaselli, among others.
Knode has an extensive record of lecture, panel and jury activities including: ArtForum Berlin (panel moderator), Yale School of Architecture, American University in Cairo (co-founded curatorial practice program), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and School of the Art Institute Chicago. Knode has also written for a number of periodicals and institutions, among them: Art in America , Flash Art and New Art Examiner; institutional articles include: Savannah College of Art and Design, CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo ( Madrid ), Neuer Aachener Kunstverein ( Germany ) and Townhouse Gallery ( Cairo ).
In addition to her BA in Art History from the University of Kansas and her MA in Museum Studies from City College of New York, Knode’s education includes: the University of Washington-Seattle Extension Certificate , Management Skills Program, 1996-97, University of California Los Angeles Fund Raising Program, 1993-1994, and post-undergraduate studies at the University of Grenoble, France, 1981.
Knode will serve as Laumeier Sculpture Park ’s third director succeeding Glen Gentele (2001-2008) and Beej Nierengarten-Smith (1979-2001).
