Miren Arzalluz will assume the direction of the Guggenheim Bilbao | Culture

(Bilbao, 46 ​​years old), current director of the Paris Fashion Museum, will be the new head and , who has been at the helm of the Basque museum since its creation 27 years ago. The daughter of the historic president of the PNV full responsibilities as of April 1, as reported this Tuesday by the Guggenheim board in an information note.

The election of Miren Arzalluz responds to “international recognition”, her extensive curriculum in the world of the arts and her “great knowledge” of the Basque cultural field. The Board of Trustees of the Guggenheim Bilbao has today announced her appointment as the next general director of the Basque museum after a selection process in which up to 79 professionals from various backgrounds have been evaluated (32% foreign, 23% Basque and 45 % of the rest of Spain). Arzalluz has a doctorate in History from the University of Deusto, a master’s degree in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and a master’s degree in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics in London.

Over the past six years, Arzalluz has led “an ambitious renovation and expansion project” at the Palais Galliera, as well as the “expansion and profound and innovative redefinition of the Paris Fashion Museum,” the Guggenheim reported. In 2024 she received the distinction of Chevaliére de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture and was recently appointed jury at the US national design awards.

Arzalluz’s professional career, before his time in the Parisian city, developed around (Gipuzkoa), where he worked as curator independent and curator for five years in charge of exhibitions and its permanent collection. He also directed the Etxepare Institute for a year (a public entity of the Basque Government that promotes the visibility of Basque culture and contemporary creation at an international level).

In appointing the new person in charge, the jury assessed that the person chosen had “great knowledge of art and the functioning of museums, proven management and planning skills within this field and at an international level, leadership capacity and experience in fundraising and audience development, communicative competence in different languages, high training and qualification in matters related to the museum world and knowledge of the institutional reality and the sociocultural context of the Museum, among other issues.

Since announcing his decision to leave his position at the head of the Guggenheim Bilbao on May 20, a selection process was launched by the company Antonia Josten, based in Berlin, the Basque museum has indicated. In the final evaluation of the most suitable candidates for the position, the board has valued the leadership of international cultural organizations, where it has highlighted his “deep knowledge of the history of art, museums and research”, in addition to his “ extensive experience in institutional management and international relations.” Arzalluz has to his credit participation in the artistic advisory committee of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.

Before taking the reins of the Bilbao museum, Arzalluz will carry out an “immersion” process in the Guggenheim museums in Bilbao and New York starting March 1, 2025, a period of four weeks in which he will work with the help of his predecessor in office. In this new stage, the new director must address the viability of the project that she has received.