Motion picture academy museum names Kerry Brougher as director

Kerry Brougher, a veteran art museum curator who has worked at L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art, has been named the director of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed on Tuesday.

Brougher is currently the chief curator of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Before that, he worked as a curator at MOCA.

Construction of the $300-million museum on the campus of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is expected to begin later this year. The 290,000-square-foot museum, which is expected to open in 2017, will feature galleries, movie theaters and educational spaces all devoted to the art of cinema.

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During his tenure at the Hirshhorn, Brougher organized a two-part show called “The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality, and the Moving Image” that opened in 2008. The show featured works by Steve McQueen, Isaac Julien and others.

At MOCA, he curated the show “Hall of Mirrors: Art and Film Since 1945” that ran in 1996. The exhibition featured works and movies by Stan Brakhage, Chris Marker, Michael Snow, John Baldessari and Raul Ruiz.

Brougher’s new job will be a Southern California homecoming of sorts. In addition to his time at MOCA, he received a master’s degree in the history of film and television from UCLA and a bachelor’s degree in art history from UC Irvine.

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The Academy Museum is designed by architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali. The museum will include a 12,000-square-foot permanent exhibit called “Making Of” that will feature interactive areas where visitors can learn about the art of filmmaking.

The museum has attracted big ticket donations from major Hollywood players, including David Geffen, who is giving $25 million, as well as Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who are giving $10 million each.

The Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda, which owns AMC Theatres, is giving $20 million to the museum.

Additional reporting by Rebecca Keegan

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