Anthony Kiendl to Lead Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
63Oct. 23, 2025
TheMuseum of Contemporary Art Denverhas announced Anthony Kiendl as its next director, effective December 1. Kiendl, who holds dual US and Canadian citizenship, was most recently chief executive and executive director of the Vancouver Art Gallery, which he departed this past March. He will step into the role vacated by Nora Burnett Abrams, who left earlier this year to helm the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston. Kiendl was named unanimously to the post by a search committee, beating out more than a hundred applicants.
“Denver has a growing, thriving, diverse population and it’s very important that the museum serve all the constituents in our local community. Anthony understood that and MCA Denver’s culture internally, which is one of collaboration,” MCA Denver board chair Steve Cohen toldThe Art Newspaper.“We needed somebody who had exhibited strength in building membership, in bolstering attendance, in fundraising. Anthony has that combination of things.”
Kiendl was appointed to his dual roles at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2020. During his tenure there, he grew the museum’s collection as well as its earned revenue, capital funding, admissions, and memberships. He also inaugurated the institution’s elder-in-residence program and established its Indigenous Advisory Council. Kiendl’s departure from VAG coincided with the museum’s decision to scrap a planned Herzog & de Meuron–designed building owing to skyrocketing construction costs. Previous roles include those of executive director and CEO of the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan from 2014 to 2020; executive director of Winnipeg’s Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art from 2006 to 2013; director of visual arts at Alberta’s Banff Centre from 2002 to 2006; and curator of the Dunlop Art Gallery in Regina from 1997 to 2002.
MCA Denver is a noncollecting institution, and the first US museum Kiendl has led. “As a curator, I think it’s important to remember that we do these amazing exhibitions, but then people go out and look at the Jumbotron at a football game, and it’s all within a continuum,” Kiendl told local news platform Denverite.
“I think it’s very important that we are here for Colorado artists, that we not only show their work, but we give them opportunities,” he continued. “That includes being able to tour their artwork, to publish their artwork, to help them have a voice outside of the region. Similarly, I think the museum plays a role in bringing the most compelling art from all over the world to Denver. It’s that kind of back-and-forth conversation that makes MCA such a rich cocktail of local and international ingredients.”