Lorenzo Balbi will lead Verona's Civic Museums

In charge of the Verona Civic Museums will be Lorenzo Balbi. This was announced today by the City of Verona. The appointment will take effect in September, marking a new phase for the Verona museum system.

With more than 15 years’ experience at the helm of leading cultural institutions (he is currently director of MAMbo - Museum of Modern Art in Bologna), Balbi’s appointment in fact aims to strengthen the identity of city museums as spaces open to public participation, contemporary cultural production and international comparison.

During the selection process, the profile of the new director was evaluated as the most suitable with respect to the objectives set by the Museums Directorate. Among the elements considered decisive were long experience in positions of high responsibility in the cultural sector, expertise in the management of complex structures, and knowledge of national and European legislation relating to cultural heritage and the administrative mechanisms of public administration.

On the management level, Lorenzo Balbi will be called upon to coordinate the various branches of the city’s museum system through a unified and integrated vision. The goal will be to expand and qualify the cultural offer, making it capable of engaging both local and tourist audiences, while also encouraging a more balanced distribution of visitors among the various museums. The new director will also have to consolidate relations with international cultural bodies and institutions, promoting scientific collaborations, shared projects and exhibition initiatives capable of increasing the visibility of the Veronese museum system.

Alongside cultural and organizational aspects, particular emphasis will be placed on partnerships and resourcing. Balbi will in fact be engaged in developing relationships with foundations, companies, public bodies and local realities, with the intention of activating new models of economic support and cooperation.

Among the main challenges entrusted to the new director is also the process of reforming the governance of civic museums. The project aims to ensure greater managerial autonomy for museum structures and encourage more structured participation of private entities, while the role of the municipality will be progressively oriented toward functions of strategic direction and cultural planning.

“I accept this appointment with great honor,” said Balbi, “and with a strong sense of responsibility. I would like to thank Mayor Damiano Tommasi, the committee, and the City of Verona for the trust placed in me. The possibility of directing such a rich, complex and stratified museum system represents an important challenge for me and an extraordinary opportunity to make available the experience gained over the years between Turin and Bologna, in dialogue with different institutions, artists, artists, curators and communities. I deeply believe in the role of public museums as open, accessible and participatory places: not just custodians of heritage, but living spaces of cultural production, research, education and civil confrontation.” “Verona’s museums,” he continued, “possess a unique heritage and enormous potential, both nationally and internationally. It will be essential to enhance their specific identities, while building an integrated vision capable of dialoguing with the contemporary city and its audiences. I am happy to begin this journey together with the professionals who already work within Veronese museums, whose daily work represents an essential resource.” “I strongly believe in collective work and in the ability of cultural institutions to grow through confrontation, collaboration and listening. Verona has all the characteristics to become a cultural laboratory of reference, capable of combining protection, innovation and international openness,” he concluded.

Born in Rivoli (Turin) in 1982, art critic and curator, Lorenzo Balbi since 2017 has been Director of the Museum of Modern Art of Bologna (MAMbo) and Head of the Modern and Contemporary Art Area of the Bologna Civic Museums Sector, to which, in addition to MAMbo, Villa delle Rose, Museo Morandi, Casa Morandi, Ustica Memorial Museum and the Sandra Natali Artist Residence belong.
Since 2022 he has been president of AMACI - Association of Italian Contemporary Art Museums. Since 2018, he has artistically directed ART CITY Bologna, an annual review of exhibition events promoted on the occasion of Arte Fiera. In 2022 he conceived the Nuovo Forno del Pane, an interdisciplinary production center that transforms the museum from an exhibition space to a production space and creative community.
From 2006 to 2017 he collaborated with the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, curating exhibitions of the Collection and several editions of the Residency Project for Young Foreign Curators, and teaching Curating Methodology at CAMPO.
He teaches Art Systems at DAMS, University of Bologna, and Contemporary Art and Visual Culture at Bologna Business School. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Collezione Farnesina and Centro Studi Giorgio Morandi, and a full member of the Accademia Clementina.
In 2024 he curated the 60th edition of the October Salon/Belgrade Biennale. In June 2026 he will open the exhibition Giorgio Morandi. Solo at MAP - Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai: the largest retrospective ever held abroad dedicated to the Bolognese artist.
Throughout his career, he has curated monographic exhibitions of internationally prominent artists including Tino Sehgal, Ragnar Kjartansson, Romeo Castellucci, Lynda Benglis, Emilio Isgrò, Susan Philipsz, Antoni Muntadas, Giorgio Morandi, and many others.

Lorenzo Balbi will lead Verona's Civic Museums

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