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Three figures take on new challenges on the international art scene
The past few weeks have been marked by a significant renewal of leadership in the international art scene. Three renowned figures—Mariam Elnozahy, Brett Littman, and Ketty Gottardo—have been chosen to lead projects and institutions in Mongolia, the United States, and France, respectively, ushering in a new era for the Ulaanbaatar Biennale, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and the Louvre Museum.
Mariam Elnozahy will direct the Ulaanbaatar Biennial 2027
Researcher, writer, and curator Mariam Elnozahy has been appointed chief curator of the second Ulaanbaatar Biennale, which will take place from June 4 to 30, 2027, in various venues across Mongolia's capital. Her selection followed an open international call for applications and was unanimously approved by a committee comprised of Mongolian artists and cultural officials, along with international curators, including Tian Zhang, who oversaw the inaugural edition in 2025.
Ulaanbaatar Biennale of 2025.
Currently the artistic director of Konsthall C in Stockholm, Elnozahy is known for a curatorial practice focused on globalization, development, and resource extraction. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), she will lead an edition titled Love Songs for Mountains , inspired by the work Noorani Metal Sound (2026) by artist Zahra Malkani, who will also participate in the biennial.
Brett Littman takes the reins of MCA San Diego
In the United States, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCA San Diego) has announced the appointment of Brett Littman as the institution's new director. He will assume the position in October 2026, following a six-month selection process.
Littman succeeds Kathryn Kanjo, who left the museum in January after fifteen years at the helm to lead the new UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art.
His career includes some of the most prominent positions in the American museum field: he was deputy director of MoMA PS1, executive director of the Drawing Center and director of the Noguchi Museum, where he promoted a program focused on contemporary art and interdisciplinary dialogue.
Ketty Gottardo returns to the Louvre as Director of Graphic Arts
The Louvre Museum is also beginning a new phase with the appointment of Venetian art historian Ketty Gottardo as director of the Department of Graphic Arts, one of the most important departments of the French institution.
The appointment, announced by the museum's president and director, Christophe Leribault, and formalized by decree of the French Ministry of Culture, will take effect on October 1, 2026. The term will last three years, with the possibility of renewal.
A specialist in Old Master drawings, Gottardo graduated from the University of Udine and completed a master's degree and a doctorate at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. His career began at the Louvre in 1999, before he joined the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where he was responsible for the French drawings collection.
Now he returns to Paris to head a department that houses one of the world's most important collections of drawings, prints and graphic works.
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