India’s leading private art museum, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in New Delhi, has appointed Manuel Rabaté as its first chief executive and director. He joins from the Louvre Abu Dhabi, where he has served as the inaugural director since 2016.
Rabaté joins KNMA as it prepares to expand significantly its footprint and scope, shifting from its present site within a shopping mall to its own 100,000 sq. m building near the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The new museum is expected to open “in two to three years”, according to a spokesperson. Upon its completion, the David Adjaye Associates-designed complex will be the “largest museum and cultural centre in South Asia”, says Kiran Nadar, who founded the museum in 2010. The new site will comprise numerous exhibition, performance and theatre spaces, a library, an archive and an education centre.
The Delhi posting will be Rabaté’s first at a private museum. He arrived at Louvre Abu Dhabi after having helped to develop it as the head of Agence France-Muséums, a consultancy set up for that purpose, following an agreement between France and the UAE. Previously he held directorial roles at Paris’s Musée Quai du Branly and Musée du Louvre.
Rabaté tells The Art Newspaper: “I have always had a keen interest in South Asia and in India in particular for both its cultural richness and its institutional life. I am excited to be part of a project that will change the museum landscape of the subcontinent. My role will be transversal to the full life of the museum, engaging with all its activities, with the primary focus on ensuring readiness to operate at the highest international and regional standards, to serve India and its communities and its visitors.”
He will work alongside KNMA’s leadership team, including its two existing directors, the chief curator Roobina Karode, and Deepanjana Klein, who oversees acquisitions and development, as well as Nadar, who serves as the chairperson. Rabaté’s appointment brings “global museum leadership and deep experience to KNMA, helping realise the institution’s vision of operating at the highest international standards while remaining rooted in the region”, according to a statement.
Since the inception of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Rabaté has overseen the museum’s operations, including the construction of its Jean Nouvel-designed building, establishing international partnerships, growing its permanent collection and developing its exhibition programme. He also recruited a team of curators in a region where few such roles existed prior to the museum’s arrival.
His experience in leading a universal museum, whose collection spans pre-history to the present day, will prove useful at the KNMA, which is widening its current remit of Modern and contemporary South Asian art to encompass earlier categories such as antiquities and miniature paintings.
Rabaté will officially step down from the Louvre Abu Dhabi on 7 March and join KNMA in the first half of this year. A Louvre Abu Dhabi statement said: “A thorough and thoughtful process to appoint a successor is underway. The priority is to identify the strongest possible candidate- an individual with clear leadership and vision, a deep understanding of the museum’s mission and operating model, and the ability to work effectively with both French and international partners- ensuring continuity of the institution’s mission to celebrate humanity’s shared creativity. The museum extends its gratitude to Manuel Rabaté for his extraordinary contribution and wishes him every success in his new role.”