By The TimesLedger
Who: Tom Finkelpearl, a Magna Cum Laude graduate from Princeton University who holds an MFA from Hunter College and is the author of “Dialogues in Public Art,” published by MIT Press in 2000.
What: Named new executive director of the Queens Museum of Art.
When: The appointment was made at the March 14 meeting of the QMA Board of Trustees and follows the recommendation of the museum’s search and executive committees.
Why: Finkelpearl is currently the Deputy Director of the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City and assumes his leadership role with QMA Friday.
QMA President Robert M. Brennan said, “Tom brings a wealth of experience to the QMA having worked so extensively in the arts. His vast experience fully prepares him to meet the challenges the position entails and successfully lead the museum into the future.”
Finkelpearl has served as executive director of program for the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and director of the Percent for Art program at the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs.
Personal notes: “I am thrilled to be appointed director of the Queens Museum of Art. My vision for the museum is that it can be simultaneously a local and international art center. Because of the magnificent diversity of the borough it is necessary to present an international program to engage the local communities. This is a particularly exciting time to be working at the Queens Museum. Eric Owen Moss has created a brilliant scheme for the museum's expansion. With the beautiful new atrium, the building will open to the park and the people who use it in a dynamic and exciting way. This perfectly reflects my goal for the institution.”
He is married to Eugenie Tsai and they live in New York City with their 9-year-old son, Julius.
