NEW YORK, NY.- The Rubin Museum of Art announced that it has appointed Jorrit Britschgi as Executive Director. Prior to the appointment, Britschgi served as Director of Exhibitions, Collections, and Research at the Rubin, driving strategies for exhibition development, greater and deeper audience engagement, and collections-based research. The news was announced at the Museum’s annual gala, where Britschgi also unveiled plans for the institution’s 2018 exploration of “The Future,” which will be the yearlong connecting theme for exhibitions and programs. Britschgi replaces Patrick Sears, who is retiring after having led the Museum for the past five years.
“We are very pleased that Jorrit will be leading the Rubin Museum into the future. Himalayan art has a lot to say about the issues of our time, and Jorrit will help the Rubin leverage the art’s voice in new, dynamic and engaging ways,” said Bob Baylis, Board President. “The Rubin is uniquely poised to connect today’s visitors with the timeless questions that we humans have grappled with for centuries. We are very pleased that we found the best person inside the Museum, in our midst, to guide the Rubin during this important time.”
Britschgi assumes the position at a pivotal moment for the Rubin Museum, as the institution evolves its programmatic vision, envisions sparking insight and personal relevance through encounters with art and thought-provoking programming, and seeks the financial underpinning to make the vision come to fruition. As executive director, Britschgi said he will focus on expanding and engaging audiences locally and virtually, building the organization’s philanthropic backbone, creating strategic partnerships and further cementing the Rubin's leadership within the arts and cultural community.
“The Rubin Museum’s world-class collection of Himalayan art, and the ideas inherent in it, serves as a source of inspiration for visitors to contemplate big life questions and how they relate to our times. We want the Rubin to be a space where art and programmatic expressions shed light on timeless and universal ideas across cultural, historic and disciplinary boundaries. We strive to allow people to find inspiration through what we do and to build bridges to the world we live in,” Britschgi said. “As executive director, I’m excited to help the Rubin do even more to create a cultural space where visitors, rather than being simply presented with answers, encounter experiences that help them make their own discoveries.”
Britschgi is an art historian with more than a decade of museum experience. Before joining the Rubin in 2016, he served as Head of Exhibitions and Publications at the Museum Rietberg in Zurich, Switzerland, where he was manager for the exhibitions program and curated numerous exhibitions. Many of Britschgi’s signature exhibitions examine a central topic from several angles in order to illuminate cross-cultural connections. Britschgi also serves as publisher of Artibus Asiae, one of the leading scholarly journals in Asian art and archaeology.
Britschgi graduated from Zurich University with an M.A. in East Asian Art History and Chinese studies (2005) and a Ph.D., with highest honors, in East Asian Art History (2009). His educational depth in East Asian art history has broadened to include art from the Himalayan mountains and contiguous areas, including a focus on Indian art.
Britschgi has received grants from federal and private foundations to pursue his studies and research projects. He is a 2017 alumni of the Getty Leadership Institute, the premier executive education program for museum leaders.
