Elisabeth Millqvist has been named the new director of the Moderna Museet’s Malmö branch of the preeminent Stockholm modern and contemporary art institution.
Millqvist will take the helm on August 1, succeeding Iris Müller-Westermann, who has led the museum since 2017. Müller-Westermann will stay on as a curator at the Moderna Museet.
She joins Malmö from the Wanås Konst Sculpture Park, where she served since 2011 as co-director and artistic director. Her tenure at the park, which counts some 70 permanent site-specific installation, was marked by the addition of several works created specifically for the sprawling grounds, including pieces by Igshaan Adams, William Forsythe, Yoko Ono, and Rana Begum.
Working with co-director Mattias Givell, she significantly expanded the park’s dance and performance program with an emphasis on new commissions.
“It has always been of central importance for me to work closely with artists and to support new projects,” Millqvist said in a statement. She continued: “In Malmö, the museum has been part of the art scene for twelve years, and it is still being shaped by the city, the arts community, and the staff. The museum is in a dynamic phase, and I am proud to be entrusted with the opportunity to lead its development.”
Situated in the small island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, the Moderna Museet’s main site is renowned for owning one of the finest collections of modern art in Europe.
In 2009, the museum expanded to the southern coastal city Malmö; the new location opened in a former electricity plant that was revamped with a striking orange perforated façade. The two institutions maintain exhibition programs that are independent of one another.
