Brett Littman, who since 2018 has served as director of the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, New York, has left his post at the institution. Deputy Director Jennifer Lorch will serve as interim director until the board appoints a successor. No reason was given for Littman’s departure. The Noguchi Museum is the first American institution created, designed and installed by a living artist to present his own work.
“On behalf of the board of trustees, we would like to express our gratitude to Brett for his contribution to the museum,” said board co-chairs Spencer Bailey and Susan Kessler. “Brett leaves the Museum in a position of strength. We wish him much success in his future endeavours. »
Littman’s departure comes as the Noguchi Museum undertakes a major expansion of its Queens campus which will see a new 6,000 square foot building designed by Büro Koray Duman as well as the renovation and restoration of the sculptor’s studio and apartment. Originally slated to open to the public in 2022, the expansion is still ongoing with no official opening date yet.
Littman, who succeeded Jenny Dixon as director of the Noguchi Museum, had previously served as executive director of the Drawing Center in Manhattan, and before that was deputy director of MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, co-executive director of the nonprofit Brooklyn Dieu Donne, and associate director of UrbanGlass, also in Brooklyn. He was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2017.
When he was hired in 2018 by the Noguchi Museum, Malcolm C. Nolen, then chairman of the institution’s board of trustees, hailed him as “a prominent and valued member of the New York cultural community”. [who] will play a crucial role in shaping and implementing the next phase of the museum’s development. Nolen added: “I know I speak for my fellow trustees when I say how thrilled we are to have Brett bring his wealth of experience to both the day-to-day running of a museum and the broader role museums play. museums in our society to his work at the Noguchi Museum.
