TEL AVIV.- Tel Aviv Museum of Art is pleased to announce that Mira Lapidot has been chosen as the Museum's new Chief Curator. She will take up her role in the coming weeks.
Mira Lapidot (born 1971) holds a master's degree in Art History and a bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences and Art History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Lapidot arrives at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art after 22 years at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, where she served as Chief Curator of the Arts, from 2012 to 2020. During her tenure, Lapidot directed eleven curatorial departments of the Fine Arts Wing, also leading the Wing’s exhibition and acquisitions program; she oversaw close to a hundred exhibitions and special exhibits, as well as dozens of Museum publications, and managed thirty curatorial staff members. Under her guardianship, the museum vastly expanded and enriched its collections. She has cultivated relationships with donors in Israel and around the world, led art-acquisition groups, managed the museum's award process, and promoted collaborations with cultural institutions, universities, and international museums. As the acting curator of the Department of Contemporary Art (2016 to 2020), she has curated exhibitions by leading artists, notable among them Ai Weiwei: Maybe, Maybe Not (2017), which was attended by more than 400,000 visitors; Christian Boltanski: Lifetime (2018); and most recently, Julian Rosefeldt’s tour-de-force film installation Manifesto (2019).
Tania Coen-Uzzielli, Director of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, commented, "I am thrilled by the committee's decision to appoint Mira Lapidot as Chief Curator of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and wish her great success. This is a major role in the field of art in Israel, which has turned even more complex and challenging amid a global epidemic. Lapidot brings an inspiring curatorial vision to this role, and I am confident that she will greatly enhance the realization of the Museum’s cultural agenda as the leading art institution in Israel, and to the consolidation of its global position as a major museum.”
Mira Lapidot stated, “I am overjoyed to join the staff of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and thank the museum for granting me the trust and opportunity to engage in the most exciting platform for contemporary art in Israel, and to undertake inspiring projects for a large and diverse public. The Modern Art collections of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art are exceptional and my hope is to explore, through them, the legacy of Modernism. I consider artists to be partners on our journey: Their work is the very reason for the museum's existence – and in times such as these, their spirit is more essential than ever.”
The members of the search committee noted Lapidot's vast experience as chief curator at a large museum, her broad understanding of all aspects of the museum system, and her in-depth familiarity with the local and international art field. “Mira Lapidot brings with her a great deal of knowledge and aptitude in creating a varied and exciting exhibition program, managing collections, and working with curators.”
Search Committee Members: Tania Coen-Uzzielli, Director of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art; Tzlilit Ben Nevat, Member of the Board of the Museum and Director of the Arts Department, Community Culture and Sports Administration, Department of Culture and Arts – Tel Aviv–Yafo Municipality; Prof. Adi Stern, President of Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem; Adv. Haim Samet, Acting Chairman of the Board of the Museum and Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Finance Committee; Doron Sebbag, Member of the Board and Board of Trustees, Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
