Céline Kopp has been nominated as the head of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMAC). She will succeed Hélène Guenin, after a transition period handled by Johanne Lindskog.
As of January 1, 2026, Céline Kopp will lead the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain in Nice. This appointment comes after the departure of Hélène Guenin, who held the position for nine years. Since February 2025, Johanne Lindskog, the director of the Fine Arts Museum of Nice, has been serving as interim director to ensure the institution’s continuous operation.
Céline Kopp arrives with a background already marked by responsibilities within major cultural structures. Since 2022, she has been at the helm of the Magasin – National Center for Contemporary Art (CNAC) in Grenoble. Previously, she directed the national interest contemporary art center in the city of Marseille for ten years.
Her experience has also been established on the international stage. In 2024, she contributed to the French pavilion at the Venice Biennale. She has also participated in numerous juries, including for the Villa Medici in Rome and the Villa Albertine in the United States in 2022.
The MAMAC is currently undergoing rehabilitation. In this context, the future director will be tasked with preparing the museum’s reopening. She will also continue the off-site programming, initiated as early as 2024, which allows the collections to be exhibited in different locations across the metropolis and beyond.
A Career Grounded in Artistic Support
Trained as an art historian, Céline Kopp has built a career around supporting artists and mediating with audiences. She advocates for an approach where the museum institution must remain close to its visitors, while serving as a space for dialogue and debate.
She has curated more than forty exhibitions in museums and art centers, in France and abroad. Some were accompanied by artist residencies. In her selections, she emphasizes the diversity of representations and the opportunity for artists to express different viewpoints.
Her commitment is also demonstrated by her involvement at the Friche la Belle de Mai in Marseille, where she served for nine years on the board of the SCIC. There, she supported strategies of cooperation and resource sharing among cultural actors.
The Role of MAMAC in the Cultural Landscape
Opened in 1990, MAMAC is a cornerstone of Nice’s cultural offerings. It regularly houses collections that primarily cover artistic movements from the post-war period to the present day, with particular emphasis on European and American art.
Under the leadership of Hélène Guenin, the museum developed programming open to the international scene. The exhibitions highlighted contemporary artists while valuing the permanent collections.
The transition ensured by Johanne Lindskog in 2025 allowed the museum’s activities to continue despite the rehabilitation work. The appointment of Céline Kopp marks a new phase, where the challenge will be to strengthen the museum’s ties with the region while asserting its place in the international contemporary art network.
With this new direction, the city of Nice aims to continue the development of MAMAC as a space for creation and dissemination. Since the beginning of the year, a new architectural consultation has been launched to outline the future building. For Céline Kopp, with her career and commitments, she fits into this continuity while preparing the museum for its highly anticipated reopening.
