Arts Note: Contemporary Art Museum chooses new director
After a five-month search, St. Louis' Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) has named Lisa Melandri as its new director.
For the past 11 years, Melandri has worked as a manager and curator for the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Under her guidance, the museum has earned national and international recognition and doubled its staff and operating budget to $2.2 million.
Prior to her employment with the Santa Monica facility, Melandri served as acting artistic director at the Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. She earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a master’s from Williams College Graduate Program in the history of art.
Melandri is excited to begin the challenge of making CAM “ever more relevant and important in the global world of contemporary art,” she said in a press release.
“I look forward to working with the extraordinary board and staff to transform the Museum into an essential space for discovery, providing exhibitions and programs that inspire, delight, teach, surprise, and embrace each visitor,” Melandri said. “I am thrilled to become a part of the St. Louis community and eager to learn about and participate in the cultural richness of the city.”
Melandri begins her work with CAM this August. Board member Dwyer Brown has served as interim director since December 2011, when former director Paul Ha left CAM for MIT’s List Visual Arts Center.
