Open Eye appoints new Artistic Director
Liverpool Biennial’s Lorenzo Fusi appointed new artistic director at the Open Eye Gallery…
The Open Eye Gallery announced earlier today that Lorenzo Fusi is its new Artistic Director. One of the UK’s leading photography spaces, and the only gallery dedicated to photography and related media in the North West, the Open Eye was founded in 1977.
The appointment arrives at a pivotal time for the gallery, coming as it does in the wake of their move 14 months ago to a new, purpose built (and much larger space) on Mann Island, which brought with it record visitors numbers for the organisation.
Fusi, who curated the 2010 and 2012 incarnations of the Liverpool Biennial (entitled Touched and The Unexpected Guest), said: “Open Eye’s resilience and rich history represent an important legacy and an incredible source of inspiration for me. Over the last 40 years, the organisation has consolidated its unique role in the local and national cultural arena. I am thrilled to now take the lead towards a new phase of this history, building on the gallery’s already established reputation and tradition.”
Among his first tasks will be to coordinate the appointment of a deputy director and a lead exhibitions programmer, the latter role being occupied by Karen Newman until her departure for Birmingham late last year.
As well as his work on 2012′s Liverpool Biennial, he also curated a suite of three retrospective exhibitions for the Galleria Civica di Modena (Italy), bringing together the work of Peter Hujar (whose work will feature in Tate Liverpool’s Glam exhibition next month), Mark Morrisroe and Jack Smith under the collective title Changing Difference: Queer Politics and Shifting Identities.
Before securing his role at the Biennial, Fusi was Chief Curator at sms contemporaea and Palazzo delle Papesse Contemporary Art Centrein Siena (Italy).
He replaces previous incumbent Patrick Henry, who has left to pursue a series of projects including Look 13, Liverpool’s international photography festival.
