Marie Nipper, most recently Director of the Copenhagen Contemporary art centre, will take up the position as new Director at the art museum in Ishøj on August 1. She becomes only the third person to hold the post.
Marie Nipper succeeds Christian Gether, who for 25 years has led ARKEN and taken the museum to its position as an internationally recognised museum with strong local roots. And the new Director is looking forward to getting started:
“I’m really looking forward to being involved in shaping the future of ARKEN. It’s no secret that the museum is facing a tough time, both organisationally and financially. But ARKEN is a totally unique museum, whose architecture and location provide opportunities that you won’t find anywhere else. I look forward to working with the museum’s board of trustees and the many talented employees to further sharpen ARKEN’s artistic profile and to keep on developing the unique opportunities that exist to present art in the landscape around the museum.”
Marie Nipper, who graduated as Mag. Art. in Art History, is a well-known name in the world of Danish art. She has been Director of Copenhagen Contemporary since 2018, and previously served as Artistic Director and Senior Curator at Tate Liverpool, as well as Senior Curator at ARoS in Aarhus. Marie Nipper also serves on the board at organisations including Tivoli A/S and Bikubenfonden. Over the past two decades, Marie Nipper has been behind a large number of exhibitions featuring Danish and international artists, and has initiated major collaborative projects with institutions in both Denmark and abroad. Most recently, she was behind Copenhagen Contemporary’s most successful exhibition to date, Light & Space.
Regarding her visions for ARKEN, Marie Nipper continues: “ARKEN must be a museum that engages locally in Vestegnen and whose artistic programme appeals to a national and international audience. I will also be putting a strong focus on developing the museum’s collection and creating even more engaging communication to children, young people and families with children.”
Eva Hofman-Bang, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at ARKEN, explains the appointment of Marie Nipper: “With Marie Nipper as its new Director, the museum is getting a leader with extensive national and international experience, and over many years she has shown impressive results in her institutional and curating work. Marie Nipper has the boldness to adopt a visionary and developmental approach, while at the same time having the necessary managerial skills to enable ARKEN’s organisation to move forward. I am sure that Marie Nipper, with her personality and ability to think both innovatively and strategically, will bring momentum and development to ARKEN, which will strengthen the museum as one of Denmark’s leading museums of contemporary art.”
