Florence Ostende Appointed Director of Artistic Programs and Content at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Following an international selection process, Ostende joins the museum’s leadership team with responsibility for the institution’s Exhibitions and Conservation, Curatorial, and Education and Interpretation departments, as well as the development of the museum’s collection. She will also serve on the Museum’s Directors’ Committee.

An art historian and curator with extensive international experience in modern and contemporary art, Ostende most recently served as Head of the Artistic Department at Mudam – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in Luxembourg, a position she held from 2024 to 2026. There, she led the museum’s artistic programme and collection strategy, while curating exhibitions including Igshaan Adams: Between Then and Now and the forthcoming survey Kaihō解放: Japanese Women Artists after 1945.

Prior to joining Mudam, Ostende was Curator at the Barbican Art Gallery in London from 2016 to 2024. During her tenure, she developed a reputation for exhibitions that brought together contemporary art, architecture, performance, cultural history, and global modernism. Her projects included major exhibitions dedicated to Francis Alÿs, Carrie Mae Weems, Isamu Noguchi, and Michael Clark, as well as thematic exhibitions such as Into the Night: Cabarets and Clubs in Modern Art and The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945.

Earlier in her career, Ostende curated exhibitions at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, including Ugo Rondinone: I Love John Giorno and Dioramas. She has also held positions as Adjunct Curator at Dallas Contemporary and Professor of Art Theory at the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD).

A member of CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art), Ostende recently served on the selection committee for Yto Barrada’s French Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale.

She holds master’s degrees in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art in London, Art History from Paris-Sorbonne University, and English Literature from Aix-Marseille University.

Commenting on her appointment, Ostende said:

“I am honored to join the Guggenheim Bilbao at a time of profound transformation for museums and the communities they serve. I look forward to working closely with the Museum’s exceptional team to shape a bold artistic program that honors its remarkable legacy and embraces the possibilities and uncertainties of our shared future. Together, we will cultivate a vision in which artists and their ideas shape our approach to education, research, and civic engagement, bringing global perspectives into meaningful dialogue with the unique cultural richness of the Basque community.”