Acute Art, a research hub and curatorial laboratory based in London, has announced that Daniel Birnbaum will be joining its team as director next year. Birnbaum has been director of Moderna Museet in Stockholm since 2010, and was previously the director of the Städelschule, Frankfurt (its graduates include Tomás Saraceno, Danh Vo and Anne Imhof). He has also been artistic director of the 2009 Venice Biennale, curated the first and second Moscow Biennial in 2005 and 2007, the Yokohama Triennial in 2008, and a judge for the Turner Prize in 2008. Acute Art launched last year and has so far produced virtual reality artworks for artists including Marina Abramović, Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons and Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
In his role as director, Birnbaum will focus on identifying opportunities to ‘continue bringing digital artwork to the public, both within an institutional framework and online through a curated offer on Acute Art’s website and app’, as well as directing the company’s exhibitions programme.
In a statement, Daniel Birnbaum has said: ‘I have had the great privilege to lead one of the best art schools, an exemplary museum of modern art and the most legendary of biennials. It is therefore a good moment to leave the old institutional world and move into an unknown territory. Acute Art is a new kind of institution and is fast-becoming a leader in the field of art and technology. This move marks an adventure, a journey in to the future.’
10 July 2018
