Hélia Paukner will become the director of macLYON and the artistic director of the Lyon Biennale.
She takes over from Isabelle Bertolotti, who has held both positions since 2018.
Paukner arrives from Mucem – the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, a national museum of cultural anthropology in Marseille, where she has been curator and head of contemporary art since 2019. Her appointment marks a return to Lyon having previously served as research assistant to the director at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon.
Paukner will oversee the appointment of the curator for each the art biennale, the eighteenth edition of which is open through 13 December, curated by Catherine Nichols. Paukner will also coordinate the staging of the Lyon Dance Biennale, which takes places on alternate years to the art event.