Anne Eschapasse joins France Muséums
Press release – France Muséums appoints Anne Eschapasse, former Deputy Director of the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, as Managing Director, based in Abu Dhabi. Anne Eschapasse will begin her new role on September 19, 2022.
ANNE ESCHAPASSE APPOINTED AS FRANCE MUSÉUMS’ NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR IN ABU DHABI
In a statement, France Museums Chief Executive Officer Hervé Barbaret said, “I am very happy to welcome Anne Eschapasse as our new Managing Director in the France Muséums team. Anne’s extensive track record in management, combined to her solid experience in exhibitions programming and production as well as in museum operations at an international level make her the ideal candidate for this role. I look forward to seeing her pursue our efforts to establish Louvre Abu Dhabi as an international museum landmark. She will focus on a variety of stakes such as audience engagement, sustainability, accessibility, outreach and capacity building for the Emirati museum and its team. A member of the leadership team, she will embody our commitments and have full authority to act on France Muséums’ behalf.”
Anne Eschapasse is a seasoned arts and culture executive with over 20 years’ experience gained in the USA, France and Canada, leading cross-functional teams in the delivery of high-profile initiatives and strategic programs. Formerly Deputy Director of the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, she oversaw notably its architectural expansion project and organizational transformation. In her new role at France Muséums, Eschapasse will focus on coordinating and nurturing the strong relationships between the Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism, Louvre Abu Dhabi and the French partners, at a seminal juncture with the museum’s fifth anniversary coming up in November. This key position within France Muséums involves particularly sound management, cultural diplomacy, and strategic skills.
Founded fifteen years ago, France Muséums is dedicated to supporting Louvre Abu Dhabi in deepening its connections to audiences near and far, on site and via digital initiatives, advancing its integration within the cultural landscape of Saadiyat Island and enhancing its international outreach. To this goal, France Muséums provides expert consulting services in collection management, special exhibitions, capacity building, and audience engagement.
Anne Eschapasse, incoming Managing Director, said, “Louvre Abu Dhabi is a remarkable museum in many respects. It is an honour to be in position to accompany it as as well as its Emirati and French partners in their pursuit of their ambitions, to strengthen its community connections, especially within Saadiyat Island, and to further its regional and international reach. At times of uncertainty, art museums are not only reminders that creativity is a deeply compelling and precious resource; they also stand to engage audiences around critical issues through dialogue across cultures, and provide respite and inspiration.”
About Anne Eschapasse
Eschapasse began her career as a European decorative arts specialist at Christie’s, in New York. From 2003 to 2009, she was appointed Director of Productions and International Relations at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris where she directed the exhibition program, in cooperation with leading international museums and galleries such as the Uffizi in Florence, Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Louisiana in Copenhagen, and Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. From 2009 to 2011, she worked as Special Projects Manager for the Director and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Appointed Director of Exhibitions and Education at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in 2012, she led notably the planning and delivery of the exhibition and educational and cultural programs as well as the design and operations pertaining to the reinstallation of the contemporary art collection in connection with the opening of a new pavilion designed by Office of Metropolitan Architecture. From 2015 to 2020, she was the Deputy Director, Exhibitions & Outreach of the National Gallery of Canada where she delivered the Gallery’s exhibitions and loans programs, administered its collection (78 000 works of art) and redesigned its national and international outreach strategy. Amongst her accomplishments, she managed the reinstallation of the Canadian and Indigenous art galleries inaugurated for Canadian Confederation’s 150th anniversary, the organization and European tour of Canada and Impressionism, and the production of several exhibitions presented at the Canada Pavilion for the Venise Biennale. In 2021, she joined the Contemporary Art Museum of Montreal where she led its architectural expansion project and organizational transformation.
Over the course of her career, Eschapasse has overseen the publishing of some thirty scholarly publications and organized over one hundred exhibitions presented in fourteen countries, including several on ground-breaking topics. She has also published and lectured on topics related to art history, the art market and exhibition management in France, Canada, and the United States.
Eschapasse, who is a dual national of France and Canada, earned a M.A. in private law from the Université Paris II-La Sorbonne, a graduate certificate in Museum Studies from New York University and a M.A. in the History of Decorative Arts, Design, and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center in New York. She is also an alumnus of HEC Montréal, the Museum (Getty) Leadership Institute in the United States, and the Attingham Summer School in England. A member of ICOM, the International Exhibitions Organizers, American Exhibitions Organizers and Polaris networks, she has served as a board member of Ottawa School of Art and the nonprofit organization Culture Montreal, and in 2016 was awarded the French order of the Arts et Lettres for her work in cultural diplomacy.
