Klaudio Rodriguez Departs as Executive Director of Bronx Museum of the Arts

Klaudio Rodriguez, who since 2020 has served as the executive director of theBronx Museum of the Arts, is leaving the institution to become the executive director and chief executive of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida. Rodriguez, who arrived at the Bronx Museum in 2017 as deputy director, announced his resignation just a month after the institution broke ground on a $33 million expansion and renovation, which he was instrumental in inaugurating, and which is slated for completion in 2026. The museum has said that his departure is unlikely to affect the project’s timeline. Shirley Solomon, the museum’s deputy director, and Yvonne Garcia, its chief advancement officer, will co-lead the institution while a permanent replacement is sought.

“It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with the staff and board of the Bronx Museum over the past seven years,” said Rodriguez in a statement. “I am leaving the museum in great hands and with a great team.”

Rodriguez’s return to Florida represents a kind of homecoming: The Nicaragua-born curator grew up in Miami and attended several South Florida universities before earning his master’s degree in Latin American and Caribbean studies from Florida International University in Miami. Before coming to the Bronx Museum, he was chief curator at the school’s Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. At the MFA, he succeeds Anne-Marie Russell, whose brief tenure was marked by a scandal involving questions about the authenticity of Greek antiquities appearing in an exhibition there. The kerfuffle resulted in the firing of the show’s curator and to several other high-level departures.

“It is especially meaningful to return to the region where I was raised and began my career in arts and culture,” said Rodriguez. “I truly believe that the MFA is well-positioned to enrich lives through art, foster impactful dialogue, and create inclusive spaces for all.”

Rodriguez will assume his new role in October.