Todd Caissie Takes the Helm at the Montclair Art Museum

The Osage museum professional steps into a new leadership role. Plus, curators named for the Aichi Triennale and Biennale of Sydney in our weekly roundup of industry news.

Art Movements, published every Thursday afternoon, is a roundup of must-know news, appointments, awards, and other happenings in today’s chaotic art world.

Todd Caissie was named executive director of the Montclair Art Museum (MAM) after serving as deputy director starting last year and interim director beginning this one. He succeeds Ira Wagner, who is retiring after taking on the role in 2020. Alongside recently appointed chief curator Kate Kraczon, the museum is entering a new era — one it calls "people-centric," emphasizing emerging and underrepresented artists.

"Traditionally, museums are object-driven and function like black holes—accumulating art while gatekeeping narratives," Caissie, a member of the Osage Nation, said in a statement. "I envision MAM functioning like an exploding sun." Shine bright, Mr. Caissie.

One of my favorite fun facts about New York City is that we used to be an oyster town, before overfishing led to the death of our oyster beds just about a century ago. Mohawk artist Alan Michelson's "The Oyster," a monumental outdoor sculpture opening on Governors Island today, July 30, draws on that history: Salvaged shells are encased in steel mesh enclosures in an homage to Lenape oyster middens and shell rings. The project, one of three commissions responding to the nation's 250th anniversary, was developed in collaboration with More Art and the Billion Oyster Project. There's not quite a billion oysters in Michelson's installation, but I'd say a couple hundred thousand is still more than enough.