Cristiana Collu appointed Director

Fondazione Querini Stampalia is delighted to announce the appointment of Cristiana Collu as new Director.

Museum Director, art historian, curator, lecturer, Cristiana Collu has been enthusiastically and unanimously appointed by the Querini Stampalia’s President, Paolo Molesini, and the members of its Board, Donatella Calabi (vice president), Shaul Bassi and Gilberto Muraro. The appointment marks a new chapter for the Foundation, which looks to the future while rooted in its exemplary history and tradition.

Cristiana Collu says: “I imagine the Fondazione Querini Stampalia as a wonder booster, open, courageous, welcoming, generous and curious, with an open-source attitude that thrives from a spirit of collaboration, that has the strength to take calculated risks, that draws from its great experience. An institution capable of earning people’s trust and making every visit memorable. We are ready for the twist: the movement will make us crack. We would like to sparkle and illuminate the gaze of those who come to us and who, along with us, expose themselves to the wonder of the world and of our existence.”

Cristiana Collu brings exceptional leadership skills and thirty years of experience in the direction and administration of museums and cultural institutions. Appointed director of the MAN in Nuoro at 27, she was the youngest museum director in Italy. She has since enjoyed successful tenures at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome and the MART in Trento and Rovereto. After graduating in Art History from the Università degli Studi di Cagliari, she completed her doctorate at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and went on to teach at a number of universities. She has served on important commissions, juries and committees including the International Jury of the 58th Biennale di Venezia, the Commissione Farnesina, the Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium for the RCRC Program in Saudi Arabia, the Quadriennale di Roma, and the TERNA Prize. She has conceived and curated over 200 exhibitions, devoting much of her research and many of her projects to sustainability, gender equality, diversity and inclusion.

Her prestigious standing, her skills and dedication, her achievements as well as vision are qualities that have led the Fondazione Querini Stampalia to entrust her, among the many applicants, with the task of interpreting the innovative mission set forth by its founder, the enlightened visionary, Giovanni Querini Stampalia. The appointment of Cristiana Collu reflects the Foundation’s commitment to broaden its perspective and horizons, starting with the city of Venice and its community.

“Cristiana Collu,” President Paolo Molesini says, “brings an outstanding reputation for skill and professionalism on the museum scene. She will carry on the Fondazione Querini Stampalia’s mission, preserving the past, envisioning the future, and leading the change.”