Academy Museum Director Steps Down as Construction Nears Finish

Kerry Brougher will be named Founding Director when museum opens in 2020

Academy Museum
AMPAS

Kerry Brougher is stepping down as the director of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures prior to its 2020 opening, TheWrap has learned.

Brougher will be given the honorary title Founding Director when the museum opens in 2020, while his team will complete the project. Brougher previously served in curator and director roles at LACMA, the Oxford Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian’s Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

“We thank Kerry for his dedicated service on behalf of the Museum. His work over the last five years on the Museum’s construction and in-depth collections well positions us to move into the next phase of this ambitious project,” the Academy Museum Board said in a statement.

“Kerry’s strong curatorial team will continue to work with us toward the Museum’s opening, and a search for a new Museum Director will begin shortly. Our primary goal remains to create the best possible motion picture museum for visitors.”

The Academy Museum, which was first announced in 2012 is being constructed along the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, was originally budgeted at $250 million and set for a 2017 opening. But the project has suffered cost overruns and opening delays, with the unveiling now set for an unspecified date next year.

Last December, Brougher and the Academy announced that the museum’s inaugural special exhibits would include a retrospective on the career of anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and a look at the history of African-American filmmakers from the early 20th century through the Civil Rights era.

“It has been a privilege for me to work with this Board, our donors, the great Renzo Piano, and all of my colleagues who have participated in creating this unique Museum,” Brougher said in a statement. “We are just weeks away from completing construction of the buildings, ending the first phase of this project, and our collection has grown substantially. The Miyazaki and Regeneration exhibitions will be the first of their kind. I’m very proud of the work done by our amazing team. Now is the right time for me to pass the baton.”

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