AppointmentFebruary 18, 2022
Maria Nicanor appointed as new director of Cooper Hewitt
Maria Nicanor, executive director of the Rice Design Alliance (RDA) at Rice University’s School of Architecture in Houston, has been named the director of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, effective March 21. An architecture and design curator and historian, Nicanor has an established career in museum and curatorial work and brings a rich background in architecture and design to the role.
Nicanor will oversee 86 employees and lead the museum’s innovative exhibition programming, featuring a newly launched digital exhibition platform and robust educational offerings and programs, including the annual National Design Awards, which recognize the best in American design across a range of disciplines. Nicanor joins Cooper Hewitt as it celebrates its 125th anniversary and shares content throughout the year that highlights the importance of design in the past, present and future.
“Maria has an impressive passion for design and a thorough understanding of the impact it has on our shared future,” said Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian. “Her vision and leadership will help Cooper Hewitt reach even more audiences across the nation and around the world.”
Nicanor was born in Barcelona and raised in Madrid. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art and architectural history and theory from the Autónoma University of Madrid, which she partly completed at the Sorbonne University Paris, and a master’s degree in museum and curatorial studies from New York University.
Since 2017, Nicanor has been the executive director of RDA, the public programs and outreach arm of the Rice School of Architecture and the leading design organization in Houston. Before joining RDA, Nicanor spent more than a decade working at art museums and foundations across the globe. Before her move to Houston, she led the opening of the Norman Foster Foundation in Madrid, her hometown, as its inaugural director. She was a curator at the design, architecture and digital department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from 2013 to 2016.
“I’m grateful and deeply honored to join the exceptional team at Cooper Hewitt,” Nicanor said. “Joining the Smithsonian family and building upon Cooper Hewitt’s past successes provides the opportunity to bring together the three most important pillars of my career: design and architecture, public service and museum work. We can’t ignore that it’s a particularly complicated time for museums in general right now. Not just what we do, but how we do it, for whom and with whom, are essential questions for design museums to consider.”
Nicanor succeeds Caroline Baumann, who served as the museum’s director from 2013 to 2020. John Davis and Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar served as interim directors from 2020 to 2022.
For more information, visit https://www.cooperhewitt.org/
Nicanor will oversee 86 employees and lead the museum’s innovative exhibition programming, featuring a newly launched digital exhibition platform and robust educational offerings and programs, including the annual National Design Awards, which recognize the best in American design across a range of disciplines. Nicanor joins Cooper Hewitt as it celebrates its 125th anniversary and shares content throughout the year that highlights the importance of design in the past, present and future.
“Maria has an impressive passion for design and a thorough understanding of the impact it has on our shared future,” said Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian. “Her vision and leadership will help Cooper Hewitt reach even more audiences across the nation and around the world.”
Nicanor was born in Barcelona and raised in Madrid. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art and architectural history and theory from the Autónoma University of Madrid, which she partly completed at the Sorbonne University Paris, and a master’s degree in museum and curatorial studies from New York University.
Since 2017, Nicanor has been the executive director of RDA, the public programs and outreach arm of the Rice School of Architecture and the leading design organization in Houston. Before joining RDA, Nicanor spent more than a decade working at art museums and foundations across the globe. Before her move to Houston, she led the opening of the Norman Foster Foundation in Madrid, her hometown, as its inaugural director. She was a curator at the design, architecture and digital department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from 2013 to 2016.
“I’m grateful and deeply honored to join the exceptional team at Cooper Hewitt,” Nicanor said. “Joining the Smithsonian family and building upon Cooper Hewitt’s past successes provides the opportunity to bring together the three most important pillars of my career: design and architecture, public service and museum work. We can’t ignore that it’s a particularly complicated time for museums in general right now. Not just what we do, but how we do it, for whom and with whom, are essential questions for design museums to consider.”
Nicanor succeeds Caroline Baumann, who served as the museum’s director from 2013 to 2020. John Davis and Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar served as interim directors from 2020 to 2022.
For more information, visit https://www.cooperhewitt.org/
