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Varinia Brodsky leaves her position as director of the National Museum of Fine Arts
Varinia Brodsky Zimmermann will step down as director of Chile's National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA) on September 14, after three years at the helm of one of the country's leading art institutions. The museum has confirmed the end of her term and indicated that the position will be filled through a public competition, in accordance with the Chilean government's current guidelines for filling leadership roles.
Brodsky's departure also comes at a symbolic moment for the institution, coinciding with its anniversary month. Her appointment as director in September 2023 marked a milestone in the museum's recent history: she became the first woman to hold this position since the return of democracy. Brodsky succeeded architect Fernando Pérez Oyarzún, who had directed the MNBA between 2019 and 2023.
Her relationship with the museum, however, had begun earlier. Since May 2022, she had served as the institution's artistic coordinator, an experience that preceded her appointment as director and allowed her to gain firsthand knowledge of its collections, programming, and operational guidelines.
During his three years at the helm of the MNBA, Brodsky has managed the institution within a context marked by budgetary challenges affecting Chilean public cultural institutions. This situation has brought to the forefront issues such as museums' capacity to develop their programs, the autonomy of their curatorial decisions, and the need to guarantee sufficient resources to sustain ambitious programming.
One of the most recent episodes that placed Brodsky at the center of public debate occurred last June, when he expressed his regret over the cancellation of an exhibition dedicated to the controversial Argentine artist León Ferrari. The exhibition, planned for the MNBA (National Museum of Fine Arts), was suspended by the Ministry of Culture as part of budget cuts. The decision highlighted the tensions that can arise between the administration's economic policies and the projects of cultural institutions.
Now, with the end of its term, the museum begins a new chapter. The institution has explained that, in accordance with current government guidelines, the renewal of positions must be carried out through a public competition. This process will allow for the selection of the person who will assume the directorship of a museum that occupies a central place in the Chilean art scene and that faces, like many public cultural institutions, the challenge of reconciling heritage, contemporary creation, public access, and available resources.
Varinia Brodsky's departure thus concludes a three-year period that also held historical significance as she was the first woman to direct the MNBA after the return to democracy. The upcoming selection process will determine not only who will occupy the director's office, but also what direction the National Museum of Fine Arts will take in the coming years.
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