This is KPBS midday edition a Maureen Cavanaugh. When the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego celebrates its 75th anniversary in October of this year, a brand new CEO will officially take the helm there the museum has announced that Kathryn Kanjo will succeed Hugh Davies was led the Museum for the last 33 years Kathryn Kanjo is very familiar with the institution she is the museum's current deputy director of our programs for joining me now is Kathryn Kanjo. Welcome. Thank you Maureen thank you. Congratulations. I understand that you first work that museum of contemporary are back in the 90s and you went on to several other museums for you came back to MCA San Diego in 2010. What did you learn about MCA's place in the larger our world that experience? I think I knew about MCA's SD place for left. The first time I knew I wanted to work there. The trick was had to get back there but in the museum world, one would go to other in tuitions to gain different types of experiences so, it might be that you are working with a different size staff and operating budget, different types of collections. Frankly different constituencies so to live in different cities has been informative and again I feel fortunate to have wound up back in La Jolla, San Diego, I only left for personal development. How is this transition going to take this between you and Hugh Davies, he is something of an is the Titian himself in the community. Absolutely, in the art community he is one of the most respected museum directors I am honored to be following him and I'm working at that he was a associated with the museum for the short-term afterwords as arts mansion director we are looking to enter into a capital campaign to expand physically, expand the museum and you will be involved in that. Tell us a little more about the expansion, it is in the La Jolla facility they Museum of contemporary Art. Absolutely our flagship is in La Jolla but the expansion will physically increase our galleries, it will quadruple our galleries in the La Jolla space. So, we will transition what is now sure what auditorium into exhibition galleries so that will be a renovation or a retrofit of our testing space. Then we will ad, with new construction, galleries just to the south of the Museum at a property that we own. That will link back to the existing building. With the La Jolla expansion in the showcase of the museum's permanent collection what are the land for this to downtown spaces -- one of the plans for the to downtown spaces? Is our intention to keep downtown. La Jolla we have the opportunity to do large special exhibitions and to highlight our permanent collection. We have 4700 objects that a lot, that silly history of art from 1950 to the present. That is what is happening in La Jolla. What you can expect to see downtown is a continuation of the large-scale in Galatians that fit so well into the gallery spaces. Currently we have the exhibition of Korean artists [INAUDIBLE] and prior to that we had Ernesto Netto's and Robert Erwin is in there so we did to the advantage of the architectural spear I've read that you feel part of the appeal of working in a museum is that it belongs to the community. Can you tell us a little bit more about that # I do feel that and it is obvious to me until you start realizing there are other options. You can be a writer you can be in academia you can be in the commercial and, but the museum is really the sweet spot between the art object, the thing that is so missed areas and we learn about and want to understand, and the audience spear --. To be able to bridge that is meaningful. I guess I come to this, as a museum goer, it was something we did as a child, my family we went to museums. Now I am just on the other end. Kathryn Kanjo you must've thought about this for a while, what you think that the San Diego community is asking of this from the Museum of contemporary Art? San Diego is rising, it is interesting to of been here in the early 90s and come back now and see the tremendous change that we anticipated, in the 90s we were saying San Diego is rising but it is happening and it is continuing to happen. So what do I think of this museum? The museum is turning 75 years old that we have been around. I think San Diego and La Jolla have always been the identity of being are friendly and are sensitive but just as the city has become more cosmopolitan I think what we need to deliver in terms of our heart package to the community is more robust. We will be a larger physical space, the collection to become more historical, we are doing meaningful education partnership out in the community so I think for a city, of a certain size you want to have cultural amenities to boast. In San Diego has that would be a. I want to again congratulate you, event begin with Kathryn Kanjo, the newly appointed director and CEO taking the helm at the 75th anniversary in October of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Catherine thank you so much. 's that it has been a pleasure thank you Maureen -- It has been a pleasure, thank you Maureen.
When the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego celebrates its 75th anniversary in October, a new CEO will officially take the helm.
The museum announced last week that Kathryn Kanjo will succeed Hugh Davies, who's led the museum for the last 33 years. As the museum's current deputy director of art and programs, Kanjo is already familiar with the institution.
So what does the future look like for the museum?
Bigger, according to Kanjo.
She told KPBS Midday Edition on Monday that the museum's flagship location in La Jolla will expand with the construction of new galleries on the property. In downtown, the museum will continue to offer large-scale installations.
"I think San Diego and La Jolla have always had this identity of being arts friendly and arts sensitive," Kanjo said. "Just as the city has become more cosmopolitan, I think what we need to deliver in terms of our art package to the community is more robust."
She added: "I think for a city of a certain size, you want to have cultural amenities to boast, and San Diego has that with the (Museum of Contemporary Art)."
