Amy Sadao has been named executive director of the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Sadao currently occupies the same position at Visual AIDS, a non-profit organization that promotes AIDS awareness through art.
The university’s provost, Vincent Price, spoke with the Daily Pennsylvanian about how Sadao’s work at Visual AIDS makes her suited to this new role. “[Sadao] has a compelling vision of the role of art in a research university, especially as a way to spark dialogue about critical social issues.”
The museum’s previous director, Claudia Gould, left the helm last year, accepting the director position at New York’s Jewish Museum after 13 years at the ICA. Robert Chaney, formerly the institution’s director of curatorial affairs, has served as interim director since Gould’s departure.
Nelson Santos, currently the associate director at Visual AIDS, will be promoted to the executive director role when Sadao takes her new post on September 1. After 10 years, he told the Daily Pennsylvanian, “she will be hard to replace.”
