William Thorsell, Director and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is pleased to announce Francisco Alvarez as the new Managing Director of the Institute for Contemporary Culture, effective March 3, 2008. Mr. Alvarez has worked in communications and administrative positions in several cultural organizations, most recently serving as the ROM’s Director of Communications. While in this position, he spearheaded the media and public relations of the Museum, including the ICC, and led the communications aspect of the Renaissance ROM project.
“Francisco brings a deep understanding of the Museum and the ICC’s unique place within it to his new role as Managing Director,” said William Thorsell. “Through his outstanding leadership and creativity, the ICC will continue to present contemporary art and current cultural issues to the public through engaging international exhibitions, dynamic new programs and informative publications.”
Born in Bogota, Colombia and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Mr. Alvarez has lived in Toronto since 1974. He holds both Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees from York University. Mr. Alvarez joined the ROM in 1999 as Media Relations Manager, and from 2004 to the present, served as Director of Communications where he was responsible for all publicity for the Museum’s exhibitions, programs and research, as well as issues management, French language services, internal communications, government and public relations. He has served as Museum’s chief spokesperson in both official languages. Prior to the ROM, he held communications and administrative positions in several cultural organizations, as well as the private sector (Alliance Broadcasting) and government (Ontario Ministries of Culture & Tourism, and Finance). He has a keen interest in all aspects of contemporary art and culture and has served on the Board of Directors of several arts organizations in Toronto.
“I’m delighted to join ICC, one of the most innovative and distinctive facets of the ROM,” said Francisco Alvarez. “Through its mandate to link contemporary cultural issues to our historical collections, the ICC provides a wonderful platform for meaningful cross-cultural discussion. I’m eager to tackle this challenging new role.”
Mr. Alvarez joins the ICC as it prepares for the opening of the ICC-organized exhibition Shanghai Kaleidoscope, presented by Manulife Financial, on May 4, 2008. Also this spring, the ICC hosts Culture Shock – A Night in Shanghai, a fundraising event celebrating all things Shanghai, on April 30, 2008. For more information, please contact the ICC at 416.586.5524 / icc@rom.on.ca or visit the ICC website at www.rom.on.ca/about/icc/.
About the Institute for Contemporary Culture
The ROM’s Institute for Contemporary Culture plays a vital role in a museum whose collections embrace many civilizations, as well as the record of nature through countless ages. In the context of the ROM’s lively documentation of history, the ICC explores current cultural issues through exhibitions of art and architecture, lectures, film series, and informal gatherings. The ICC provides a unique forum where the new encounters the historical and anthropological. It explores both the continuity and discontinuity of cultures—their relationships across space and time, to each other and to the natural world. The ROM’s collections provide context and depth to contemporary issues addressed by artists, architects, and participants in ICC events from around the world.