Russian art critic Ekaterina Degot to become new artistic director of Academy of World Art

Russian curator and art critic Ekaterina Degot is to become the new artistic director of the Academy of World Art in Cologne. Set to occupy the role for two years, Degot has been a member of the academy since its establishment. She is known in Russia and worldwide for her university lecturing, writing and curating, including the First Ural Industrial Biennial in Yekaterinburg and the recent Bergen Assembly in Norway in 2013.

The Academy of World Art was founded in 2012 as a not-for-profit organisation, featuring a wide range of cultures from around the world. Tom Holert, a founding member of the academy, welcomed the appointment: “We look forward to the next two years and to what promises to be an exciting and thought-provoking programme”.

The academy is known for its political contextualisation of art and in an official statement insisted on their commitment to “avoiding the romance of multiculturalism, globalism and identity politics”.

Degot will begin the unpaid role later this year.