Stéphane Aquin to Head Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Stéphane Aquin
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has appointed Stéphane Aquin as its new director, following the sudden departure of former director Nathalie Bondil.
Aquin is currently chief curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., where he has worked for the last five years. He will make the move to Montreal in November.
Aquin, who has organized numerous exhibitions and edited several reference books, said it's an "immense honour" to lead the museum, where he previously worked as a curator.
"I am very much looking forward to working again with the museum's fantastic teams, who have contributed to its reputation for excellence for many years," he said.
The museum has been mired in controversy since Bondil, considered an international star, was terminated in July.
Michel de la Chenelière, then the president of the museum’s board of trustees, said Bondil was let go because she fostered a toxic workplace climate. But Bondil says her opposition to his choice for a new curator led to her departure. She has filed a $2-million lawsuit against the museum.
A recent independent report commissioned by Quebec’s minister of culture and communications found “inconsistencies, misunderstandings and inaccuracies” in the museum's governance and accountability. The museum is now reviewing its governance and management structure with the help of consultants Lise Bissonnette and Pierre A. Raymond.
Aquin, a native of Montreal who grew up in the United States and Switzerland, holds a master's degree in art history from the Université de Montréal.
He worked at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from 1990 to 1992 and rejoined the museum in 1998 as curator of contemporary art, a position he held until his departure for Washington in 2015.
The board's new chairman, Pierre Bourgie, said Aquin was "an obvious candidate" due to his track record in the field and his knowledge of the museum.
Source: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
