Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev To Head Italy’s New “Superfoundation” in Turin

Starting January 1, 2016, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev will become the director of the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art and the GAM, Art magazin reports.

The two museums are merging into one mega institution, nicknamed the “Superfondazione” by the Italian press.

Christov-Bakargiev, curator of this year’s Istanbul Biennale, was chosen out of 171 candidates including Francesco Bonami, Vincenzo de Bellis, Christian Collu, Pietromarchi Bartolomeo, and Andrea Viliani, according to the Italian paper Artribune.

The appointment marks a return to Turin for the American-Italian curator. Between 2002 and 2008, Christov-Bakargiev was the chief curator at Castello di Rivoli, and in 2009, she served as its interim director before being appointed to head the Documenta 13.

Following her tenure, the Rivoli was headed by Beatrice Merz and Andrea Bellini, but was soon facing financial difficulties and was at risk of shutting down for lack of funds. To save the institution, the Castello di Rivoli museum merged with Turin’s modern art museum, the GAM.

The GAM is currently headed by Danilo Eccher, who had repeatedly stated he would not apply for the new position.

“When an institution receives a candidature from someone like Carolyn, it shouldn’t even ask for an operational proposal,” an unnamed candidate from the list of 10 finalists told Artribune, regarding Christov-Bakargiev’s appointment. “A figure like this you just take and that’s it.”