The Swedish-born current director of the Bonn Art Association, Fatima Hellberg, will succeed Karola Kraus as director of the Vienna Museum of Modern Art Foundation Ludwig (mumok) from October 1, 2025. Cornelia Lamprechter will remain managing director for another five-year term.
17 women and seven men applied for the artistic direction, 16 of them from abroad. Seven people were invited to hearings and two were recommended by the search committee. Hellberg is an “internationally well-connected, incredibly experienced and creative leader,” emphasized Secretary of State for Culture Andrea Mayer (Greens).
The mumok is currently closed until June as part of a renovation. From autumn 2025, “a spirit of liveliness” will move into the museum. “My vision is a living museum. That is very important to me,” said the future general director. A living museum must “create new narratives and connections, see itself as a host and radiate generosity, openness and warmth towards the audience,” said the 38-year-old.
International curator
The future director studied visual cultures and art history at the University of Oxford and Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art in London. She has curated exhibitions and projects at the Tate Modern in London, the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, the Malmö Konsthall and the Museion in Bolzano. From 2015 to 2019 she was artistic director at the Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, and since 2019 she has been director of the Bonn Art Association.
