The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Denver has announced the appointment of Anthony Kiendl as its new director, effective December 1st. Kiendl, who brings nearly three decades of leadership experience from several prominent Canadian art institutions, was selected from more than 100 candidates in an international search process. He replaces Nora Burnett Abrams, who served as MCA Denver's director from 2019 until May of this year, when she departed to become the director of the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston.

Kiendl's most recent role was as chief executive and executive director at the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG), a position he held for five years beginning in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to MCA Denver board chair Steve Cohen, Kiendl was the unanimous choice of the selection committee. "Denver has a growing, thriving, diverse population and it's very important that the museum serve all the constituents in our local community," Cohen explained. "Anthony understood that and MCA Denver's culture internally, which is one of collaboration."

The 57-year-old Kiendl stepped down from his VAG position in March after he and the gallery's board decided not to proceed with a long-planned Herzog & de Meuron-designed building due to escalating construction costs. Despite this setback, his tenure at VAG was marked by significant achievements. He successfully increased earned revenue, capital funding, admissions, and membership while expanding the permanent collection by more than 1,100 objects. Additionally, he restructured the senior leadership team and established an Elder-in-Residence position and Indigenous Advisory Council that informed decision-making across all aspects of the museum.

Cohen emphasized that MCA Denver, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, has gained national recognition for combining curatorial rigor with a playful, unconventional approach to programming. "We're quirky and we're fun but we take art seriously and we need to make that all work," Cohen said, highlighting Kiendl's extensive curatorial experience. "The overlay on all that, which is incredibly important because of the realities of what's going on economically and politically in the world today, we needed somebody who had exhibited strength in building membership, in bolstering attendance, in fundraising. Anthony has that combination of things."

This appointment marks Kiendl's first leadership role in the United States. He expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity, noting that "Denver and Colorado at this moment is a very interesting place, with an influx of a lot of young people to the city, a very dynamic economy and the centrality of it allows one to have tentacles into other areas of the United States and even abroad." He was also drawn to Colorado's natural beauty, particularly where "the mountains meet the plains," which reminded him of the geography of Winnipeg in the Canadian Prairies where he grew up.

Kiendl's career began as a practicing artist creating multimedia installation and conceptual work after studying studio art and English. His transition into museum leadership started with a grant-writing position at an artist-run center in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which led to curatorial opportunities. Throughout his career, he has held significant leadership positions at several prestigious institutions, including the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity in Alberta, where he worked with more than 200 international artists annually; the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art in Winnipeg, where he oversaw the construction of a new building; and the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, which houses a large encyclopedic collection.

MCA Denver operates as a nimble, non-collecting organization with a staff of 60, an operating budget of $5.7 million, and an endowment of $4.7 million. The museum owns its downtown building, which was designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye and completed in 2007 as his first commission in the United States. Reflecting on his new role, Kiendl said he has spent his entire career "searching for optimal ways for artists to present their work and for visitors to discover it." He believes MCA Denver is "uniquely positioned to be an unparalleled platform for the presentation of contemporary art, and to create access to that art for a wide public."