After 16 years as the director of the Museum of Arts and Design, Holly Hotchner, 61, has announced that she will step down from her position at the end of April.
Under Ms. Hotchner’s leadership, the museum opened its $110 million new home at 2 Columbus Circle in 2008 â€" more than tripling its exhibition space â€" and increased the number of annual visitors to 400,000 from about 60,000. “It’s been amazing for me to be able to build not just a building but an interdisciplinary art form that is attracting such a huge audience,†Ms. Hotchner said in a telephone interview. “It’s the five-year anniversary of the museum at Columbus Circle. We’re wrapping up a capital campaign. It really is a good time for me to do the next thing.â€
The board will start a search for a new director in the coming month, the museum said. To ease the transition, David Gordon, formerly director of the Milwaukee Art Museum and secretary o the Royal Academy of Arts in London, will serve as acting director.
