Barbara Clausen, an Austrian-born curator and art historian, has been appointed as the new rector of Frankfurt’s Städelschule Academy of Fine Arts and its gallery director, Portikus. Her five-year term will commence on October 1. Clausen, an expert in performance art, succeeds Yasmil Raymond, the first woman to hold these positions. Clausen has been a visiting professor at the Institute of Art History at Goethe University in Frankfurt since 2023.
“We are thrilled that Barbara Clausen will assume the role of rector this fall,” said Professor Gerard Byrne on behalf of the Städelschule. “Clausen is an internationally acclaimed art historian with a distinguished body of curatorial work that engages contemporary art practices through the lens of historical legacies. She has a proven track record of working closely with students and contributing to institution building. Her professional interests and extensive international experience make her an ideal leader for the Städelschule.”
From 2018 to 2022, Clausen directed the research project Keeping It Live, and from 2014 to 2019, she oversaw An Annotated Bibliography in Real Time: Performance Art in Quebec and Canada. Her notable curatorial projects include “Stage Set Stage” at SBC Galerie d’Art Contemporain in Montreal (2014), “Push and Pull. Part I and Part II” (2010–11) in collaboration with Vienna’s Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Tanzquartier Wien, and London’s Tate Modern, as well as “Wieder und Wider: Performance Appropriated” (2006) and “After the Act: The (Re)Presentation of Performance Art” (2005) at MUMOK. Clausen holds a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna, Austria.
Sayart / Amia Nguyen, amyngwyen13@gmail.com
