Lots of room at the top for curators at LACMA

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‘Turnover is good,’ says Michael Govan, director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, ‘especially when you are making transitions and doing new things.’

But with five key curatorial positions vacated this year and a search for a Chinese art curator dragging into its third year, LACMA might seem to be in a tough spot. The situation, complicated by a hiring freeze, raises questions about how long the vacancies will remain open.

Until the economy improves?

Forever?

‘All the main positions will be filled quickly,’ Govan says. Finding a Chinese art curator is a challenge because there’s a shortage of qualified candidates and the museum’s less-than-stellar collection makes it difficult to attract a top-notch scholar, he says. But he expects other key spots to be occupied soon.

Appointing a successor to Lynn Zelevansky, the head of contemporary art who recently left to direct the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, is a top priority. ‘We are not going to drag our feet to save money,’ he says, ‘because we have so many exciting things on our plates.’

Read the full story in Thursday’s Calendar or click here.

--Suzanne Muchnic

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