Maria Nicanor is the new director of Cooper Hewitt
Maria Nicanor, an architecture and design curator and historian, has been named director of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, effective March 21. Currently the executive director of the Rice Design Alliance at Rice University’s School of Architecture in Houston, Nicanor has an established career in museum and curatorial work and brings a rich background in architecture and design to the role.
As director of Cooper Hewitt, Nicanor will oversee 86 employees, an annual budget of over $15 million and a collection of about 215,000 objects. She also will lead the museum’s innovative exhibition programming, featuring a newly launched digital exhibition platform and robust educational offerings and programs, including the annual National Design Awards, which recognize the best in American design across a range of disciplines. Nicanor joins Cooper Hewitt as it celebrates its 125th anniversary, sharing content throughout the year that highlights the importance of design in the past, present and future.
Since 2017, Nicanor has been the executive director of RDA, the public programs and outreach arm of the Rice School of Architecture and the leading design organization in Houston. As executive director she has overseen the development of content and programming, including lectures, the Houston Design Research Grant program, the annual Spotlight Award for emerging architects, design competitions, an international travel program and the annual print publication Cite: The Architecture and Design Review of Houston. During her tenure, she led a re-envisioning of the organization’s branding, programming and audience engagement, and recently spearheaded a full transition to digital programming in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also directed fundraising, operations and finance for RDA, celebrating an annual gala for Houston’s design community and coordinating with a 40-person board of directors. Under her leadership, in 2019 her team hit an all-time fundraising record in the organization’s 50-year history.
Before joining RDA, Nicanor spent more than a decade working at art museums and foundations across the globe, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
“Maria has an impressive passion for design and a thorough understanding of the impact it has on our shared future,” said Secretary Lonnie Bunch. “Her vision and leadership will help Cooper Hewitt reach even more audiences across the nation and around the world.”
Born in Barcelona and raised in Madrid, Nicanor holds a bachelor’s degree in art and architectural history and theory from the Autónoma University of Madrid, which she partly completed at the Sorbonne University Paris, and a master’s degree in museum and curatorial studies from New York University.
Nicanor succeeds Caroline Baumann, who served as the museum’s director from 2013 to 2020. John Davis and Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar served as interim directors from 2020 to 2022.
Bunch took special note of the search committee who helped identify and select Nicanor. Chaired by Kevin Gover, Under Secretary for Museums and Culture, the committee members were:
- Daryl Cannon, former assistant director of advancement operations, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
- Antionette Carroll, founder, president and CEO, Creative Reaction Lab
- Paul Herzan,member, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum advisory board
- Jon Iwata,chair, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum advisory board
- Aviva Rosenthal, director, Smithsonian’s Office of International Relations
- Sandy Speicher,chief executive officer, IDEO
- Margaret Stewart,member, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum advisory board
- Yao-Fen You, acting deputy director of curatorial, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
The committee was assisted by Greg Bettwy, chief of staff for the Smithsonian Secretary, and Becky Klein and Sarah James from the search firm of Phillips Oppenheim.
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Posted: 8 February 2022
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Categories:
Administrative News , Art and Design , Cooper Hewitt Museum , News & Announcements , On the Move
