The Facts
Kunsthaus Zürich announced on August 29, 2025, the appointment of Hendrik Folkerts as Chief Curator of Programme and Maja Wismer as Head of Collection and Research. Folkerts, who will assume his role on February 1, 2026, joins from Moderna Museet in Stockholm, where he organized exhibitions including Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit and Vaginal Davis: Magnificent Product. Wismer previously led the Department of Art after 1960 and Contemporary Art at Kunstmuseum Basel from October 2020 to May 2025, overseeing the Basel iteration of When We See Us: A Century of Pan-African Figuration. Both curators bring expertise in contemporary art and a commitment to transhistorical programming, working alongside Director Ann Demeester to advance the museum's curatorial vision.
The Signal
The appointments signal a strategic consolidation of leadership at one of Switzerland's major encyclopedic museums, which holds collections spanning the 13th century to the present. Folkerts' background in performance, feminist and queer perspectives, and global contemporary practice, combined with Wismer's experience in post-1960 and contemporary art, suggests a push toward critically engaged, research-driven exhibitions that bridge historical and contemporary works. For collectors and artists, this indicates Kunsthaus Zürich may strengthen its role as a platform for experimental curatorial models and acquisitions that reflect current art-world dialogues, particularly around representation and institutional critique.
- People: Hendrik Folkerts, Maja Wismer, Ann Demeester
- Museums: Kunsthaus Zürich, Moderna Museet, Kunstmuseum Basel, Art Institute of Chicago, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
- Locations: Zürich
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