mumok is delighted to announce the appointment of Fatima Hellberg as General Director, starting in October 2025. The appointment follows an extensive process led by a selection committee comprised of external experts, Board members and Ministry representatives. In her statement on the appointment, Andrea Mayer, Secretary of State reflects: “With Fatima Hellberg, we have gained an internationally well-connected, incredibly accomplished and creative leader for mumok. Hellberg has presented an outstanding concept. She stands for a new departure, for a new and different way of thinking about museums, for cooperation and diversity, but also for a keen sense of history and the strength of the mumok collection.”
In response to the appointment, Hellberg has stated: “mumok is exceptional—as an institution it not only houses one of the most important collections of modern and contemporary art, but also continues to foster art’s ability to mirror and shift our understanding of the present. I look forward to extending mumok’s bold tradition and the achievements of Karola Kraus, whilst considering novel ways of bringing liveness to its outstanding collection and enacting a vision of the contemporary that unfolds across multiple scales and contexts, entwining major and minor histories. My work is built on a belief in the museum as an integrated public sphere that not only serves as a microcosm for complex socio-political relations, but also has the power to release moments of energy and transformation. Central to this approach is the spirit or Haltung of the museum, how it can foster a dedication to exhibition making, rigorous research, and visionary cultural production, alongside an attitude of openness, warmth, and curiosity."
Fatima Hellberg (b. 1986, Sweden) studied Visual Culture and History of Art at Oxford University and Curating Contemporary Art at Royal College of Art, London. She has curated exhibitions and projects internationally, including at Tate Modern; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco; Malmö Konsthall and Museion, Bolzano. From 2015 to 2019, Hellberg was Artistic Director of Künstlerhaus Stuttgart and previously served as a curator at Cubitt and Electra in London. In her current capacity as Director of Bonner Kunstverein, Hellberg has demonstrated a remarkable skill for combining a holistic approach to institutional direction with a multi-layered understanding of the contemporary, in order to produce a distinctive and distinguished curatorial signature. Her approach is marked by an emphasis on long-term collaborations and exhibition-making as an artistic form as well as practices of hosting and hospitality that facilitate unforeseen resonances between artists, administrators, guests, and beyond.
Contact
For further information please contact: presse@mumok.at
