Zoë Ryan. Photo by Constance Mensch
Marcy Carsey, chair of the Hammer Museum at UCLA’s Board of Directors, announced today the appointment of Zoë Ryan as the next director of the museum.
This appointment follows the 2023 announcement of longtime director Ann Philbin’s retirement, following 25 years of leading the museum. Philbin will step down in November 2024; Ryan will take over on January 1, 2025.
Ryan comes to the Hammer Museum from the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has been the Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director since 2020. In this role, Ryan has overseen a critically acclaimed program of exhibitions; spearheaded the creation of an annual art commission; and expanded public engagement efforts with a focus on building partnerships with the university, museums, and arts organizations locally, nationally, and internationally. Ryan also oversaw the development and realization of a new strategic vision for ICA, which reinvigorated the institution’s community engagement and commitment to collaboration, experimentation, and learning as its guiding values. From 2006–2020, Ryan was the John H. Bryan Chair and Curator of Architecture and Design at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she set the vision for collecting and exhibiting modern and contemporary architecture and design, overseeing a collection of more than 250,000 objects, including works on paper, textiles, architectural models, furniture, and photography. In 2014, Ryan was the curator of the second Istanbul Design Biennial, The Future is Not What it Used to Be.
“I am thrilled to welcome Zoë to the Hammer Museum and look forward to her leadership and collaboration with the museum’s board, staff, UCLA, and the many artists who make up the Hammer’s community,” said Marcy Carsey. “Zoë is a leader known for building support for daring and ambitious projects and her steadfast commitment to artists. We’re very excited for her to bring these skills to the Hammer.”
“The Hammer Museum is one of the most exciting museums in the country. It has had an electrifying effect on Los Angeles’ ascendance as a global arts capital,” said Zoë Ryan. “With its experimental exhibitions and dynamic public programs, the Hammer has set the pace for museums to engage with the critical issues of our time, whether politics, climate change, and justice and equity for all. Annie Philbin has had an extraordinary impact in making the Hammer an internationally influential institution; I am thrilled and honored to lead this museum and be a part of the vibrant creative communities of Los Angeles.”
Current Hammer director Ann Philbin said, “It has been the most extraordinary journey of my life to lead the Hammer Museum for the last 25 years, and I am excited to hand the baton to Zoë Ryan to lead the museum into its next chapter. Zoë is a truly great choice and will be supported by a brilliant staff, a committed board, a vibrant university ecosystem, and an incredible community of artists. I wish her nothing but success.”
