Manuel Rabaté, the inaugural director of Louvre Abu Dhabi, has been appointed as the first chief executive and director of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in New Delhi. He will lead the institution as it prepares to move from its current location in a shopping mall to a massive new purpose-built complex designed by David Adjaye Associates, which is slated to open within three years.
This appointment signals a major international leadership hire for India's burgeoning private museum sector. Rabaté's experience in launching and scaling a major global museum project in Abu Dhabi will be crucial for KNMA's ambitious expansion, which aims to create the largest museum and cultural center in South Asia, fundamentally reshaping the region's institutional landscape.