The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in New Delhi, one of India’s leading private art institutions, has announced the appointment of Manuel Rabaté as its first chief executive and director. The Frenchman joins from Louvre Abu Dhabi, where he has served as its inaugural director since the museum opened in 2016.
Rabaté’s arrival comes as KNMA prepares for a major expansion that will see it move from its current location inside a shopping mall into a purpose-built museum complex near Indira Gandhi International Airport. Designed by David Adjaye Associates, the massive new campus is expected to open within the next three years, according to a museum spokesperson.
Kiran Nadar, who founded KNMA in 2010 and is its chair, has described the upcoming complex as the largest museum and cultural center in South Asia. The site will include multiple exhibition galleries, performance and theater spaces, a library, archive, and education center.
The New Delhi role will be Rabaté’s first at a private museum. Before taking the helm at Louvre Abu Dhabi, he led France Muséums, the French government-backed consultancy created to develop the museum. It was founded in the wake of an intergovernmental agreement between France and the United Arab Emirates. Earlier in his career, Rabaté held senior positions at the Louvre and the Musée du Quai Branly–Jacques Chirac, both in Paris.
“I have always had a keen interest in South Asia and in India in particular, both for its cultural richness and its institutional life,” Rabaté said in a statement. “I am excited to be part of a project that will change the museum landscape of the subcontinent.”
At KNMA, Rabaté will work alongside the museum’s existing leadership team, including chief curator Roobina Karode and Deepanjana Klein, director of acquisitions and development. According to the museum, his appointment is intended to bring global museum leadership to the institution as it scales up its operations while remaining regionally focused.
During his tenure at Louvre Abu Dhabi, Rabaté oversaw the construction and launch of Jean Nouvel’s landmark building, expanded the museum’s permanent collection, developed its exhibition program, and helped establish a curatorial infrastructure in a region where such roles were previously limited.
Rabaté will step down from his role at Louvre Abu Dhabi on March 7 and is expected to take up his post in New Delhi in the first half of this year. In a statement, Louvre Abu Dhabi said a search for his successor is underway, adding that the institution “extends its gratitude to Manuel Rabaté for his extraordinary contribution and wishes him every success in his new role.”
