The Board of Trustees of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has announced that Miren Arzalluz has been appointed Director General following an exhaustive international selection process. A prominent art historian and curator, Arzalluz will assume her new role on April 1, 2025.
Arzalluz brings extensive experience leading major cultural institutions and a deep commitment to Guggenheim Bilbao’s mission of acting as a transformative force for the Basque Country. She is recognized for her museum management and international relations expertise and combines a solid global perspective with a deep appreciation for local culture. She is ideally suited to advance the Museum’s vision.
Born in Bilbao in 1978, today Arzalluz is the director of the Fashion Museum- Palais Galliera in Paris, where she has overseen a transformational renewal and extension project for the past six years. Her projects during her tenure at Palais Galliera include innovative and interdisciplinary exhibitions in collaboration with international museums of art and design, gaining broad public and critical acclaim. Leadership by Arzalluz has been acknowledged through her recent nomination to the prestigious French Order of Arts and Letters and her appointment to the jury for the 2025 U.S. National Design Awards by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Arzalluz has a PhD in History from Deusto University, an MA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and an MA in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics. She has developed her career in France and Spain, having held the positions of director of the Etxepare Euskal Institutua of the Basque Government and chief curator of the Balenciaga Museum. She is currently a member of the Artistic Advisory Committee of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.
Arzalluz will commence as Director General Elect on March 1, 2025, working with the current Director General Juan Ignacio Vidarte in Bilbao and New York until the full responsibility takeover on April 1st.
After the announcement of Juan Ignacio Vidarte’s resignation as General Director, the Selection Committee of the Guggenheim Bilbao’s Board of Trustees began the selection process in collaboration with Antonia Josten, one of Berlin’s most crucial executive recruitment agencies, the position attracted huge interest, with 1,160 visitors to the application page, receiving 79 applications from all over the world.
The search targeted candidates with a strong understanding of art and museum operations, proven management experience, international cultural leadership, language proficiency, and an appreciation of the Museum’s unique role within the Basque socio-cultural context. Following an intensive evaluation, the Selection Committee selected Arzalluz as the best candidate to lead the Museum into the future.
This appointment is expected to herald a new era for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which will be guided by Arzalluz with a new spirit, greater emphasis, and more influence both locally and internationally.