ARKEN has appointed its new director: Johan Holten (b. 1976), who will take up the position on 1 April 2026. Johan Holten comes from a role as Director of Kunsthalle Mannheim in Germany, where he has been responsible for several critically acclaimed and highly visited exhibitions, major strategic partnerships, and a significant modernisation of the institution’s role in the city and region.
“I am truly excited to become part of the dedicated team at ARKEN. In recent years, the museum has focused on becoming an even more relevant, but also fun, inspiring, and challenging place to visit – a direction that aligns perfectly with the work I have carried out as director of three different German museums and art halls. There, I learned that art becomes truly meaningful when understood as part of a holistic experience. So the culture surrounding art will likely play an even greater role at ARKEN in the years to come than it already does today,” says the museum’s new director.
Johan Holten holds degrees in art history and cultural history from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and has for many years been a central figure in the European museum landscape. When he takes up his position at ARKEN, Johan Holten returns home to Denmark, where he was born and raised.
Chairman of the Board, Lars Kirdan, says of the appointment: “I am extremely pleased that ARKEN has succeeded in attracting Johan Holten as its new director. With decades of experience as an art professional on the international stage, he will undoubtedly make a significant impact not only on ARKEN’s future development, but on the entire Danish and Nordic contemporary art scene,” he says, continuing: “The museum is undergoing rapid development, and together with the rest of the management team and the museum’s fantastic staff, I have no doubt that ARKEN will continue to evolve under Johan Holten’s leadership. The board, the staff, and I very much look forward to welcoming him to ARKEN.”
Photo: Sonja Bell