Agustín Arteaga, the director of the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas, will depart his post on December 31 after eight years, leaving open one of the top institutional roles in the South.
The museum’s announcement of his departure did not state where he was headed next. Tamara Wootton Forsyth, currently the institution’s deputy director, will become interim director.
Arteaga is set to leave the museum while it is undertaking an expansion—an unusual move, given that most directors of art institutions stay on until those plans are realized. That expansion will be designed by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos and is expected to add around 40,000 square feet to the museum’s campus, which is already among the largest of any institution in the US. The expansion, which adds more gallery space, a new restaurant, and more, will also include a revamp of the institution’s facilities.
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In a statement, Arteaga said, “As the museum embarks on an expansive transformation project and capital campaign, and considering the significant progress that has been made during my eight years of leading the DMA, working in collaboration with our staff and Board, driven by my passion for art and a strong sense of purpose to serve, I feel it’s the right time to transition and focus on pursuing these passions as a museum leader, curator and scholar.”
Since becoming director of the Dallas Museum in 2016, Arteaga has made significant attempts to diversify the museum’s programming and audiences. Alongside sizable shows devoted to European and American artists such as Berthe Morisot, Cecily Brown, and Vincent van Gogh, there has been a survey for Mexican modernism, as well as lauded shows about Frida Kahlo, Abraham Ángel, and Matthew Wong.
Under his leadership, in 2017, the museum also began making available materials in both English and Spanish. At the time, such a gesture was rare in mainstream museums; now, it is becoming increasingly common.
Prior to leading the Dallas Museum of Art, Arteaga had led Puerto Rico’s Museo de Arte de Ponce, the the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, and Mexico City’s Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes.
He is the third major US museum director to announce plans to depart in recent months. This past summer, Museum of Fine Arts Boston director Matthew Teitelbaum said he would retire, having led that institution for a decade. Then, in September, longtime Museum of Modern Art director Glenn Lowry also said he would retire, with plans to officially leave that institution in 2025.
