MOCA names Jeffrey Deitch as new director

Art dealer Jeffrey Deitch will head the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Picture this: LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art has named veteran art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director, a position open for more than a year. The museum’s last leader, Jeremy Strick, resigned in 2008 in the midst of a financial meltdown. The highly respected, 30-year-old institution was on the verge of bankruptcy, until it took a $30 million bailout from its chairman, billionaire Eli Broad. Deitch is the first art dealer/gallery owner to assume leadership of a major U.S. museum. Will his commercial credentials be good for the non-profit?

Picture this: LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art has named veteran art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director, a position open for more than a year. The museum’s last leader, Jeremy Strick, resigned in 2008 in the midst of a financial meltdown. The highly respected, 30-year-old institution was on the verge of bankruptcy, until it took a $30 million bailout from its chairman, billionaire Eli Broad. Deitch is the first art dealer/gallery owner to assume leadership of a major U.S. museum. Will his commercial credentials be good for the non-profit?

Guest:

Jeffrey Deitch, incoming director, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles

Maria Bell, MOCA co-chair