José Lebrero will take up his new appointment at the Museo Picasso Málaga this coming October 15. The new Artistic Director&rsquo";“s duties will include, amongst other things: coordinating and planning for the departments under his charge”;" management and conservation of the artistic heritage at the Museo Picasso Málaga";" overseeing the programme of temporary exhibitions and cultural and educational activities";" and representing the Museum and fostering relations with other similar museums and institutions, both at home and abroad. The selection process, which concluded last Friday, July 31, began with an international call for applications, to which 21 candidates replied. For advice and guidance with the application process, the Museum appointed an assessment committee formed by art experts from several countries. José Lebrero Stals (Barcelona, 1954) holds a degree in Information Science from the Universidada Autónoma de Bellaterra, Barcelona, and studied Art History and Political Science at the University of Cologne, Germany. He received his MA in Digital Multimedia Design and Production from La Universidad Salle-Ramón Llull. From 1996 to 2002, he was head curator at MACBA, the Museu d&rsquo";“Art Contemporani de Barcelona. In 2003, he was appointed director of the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo in Seville, a post he has held until the present. At this contemporary art centre, he was instrumental in introducing an exhibition programme that linked contemporary art with other artistic disciplines. Parallel to these activities, José Lebrero has also built up a professional reputation as a curator, with more than a score of exhibitions, including shows on the work of Gerhard Richter and the painter Luis Gordillo and a retrospective devoted to the Equipo 57. Besides contributing critical essays and reviews to art journals, moreover, he has also lectured at art centres, universities and museums all over Spain. José Lebrero, who speaks several languages, has also acted as consultant and adviser to a number of international museums, such as the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary PrivatstiftungKunsthalle D&uuml”;“sseldorf (Germany), the Institut d&rsquo”;“Art Contemporain in Lyon (France), the Museu de Arte de S&atilde”;“o Paulo (Brazil) and the Whitney Museum in New York (USA). Additionally, he has collaborated with several Spanish art centres, including the Fundació Joan Miró (Barcelona) , the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid) and the Museo Picasso Málaga itself, where he was a member of the Scientific Committee from 2005 to 2007. in Vienna (Austria),theSiegen Museum (Germany), the Reporting to the Executive Council, the Artistic Director will be responsible for artistic direction at the MPM, managing the Museum&rsquo”;“s content and activities, overseeing its museological concept and policies with the aim of conserving Picasso&rsquo”;“s work and fostering understanding of it amongst the widest possible audiences. José Lebrero will also manage the Museum collection and acquisition programme and its long-term temporary exhibition and activities programme. Moreover, he will be responsible for controlling and supervising educational programmes, the conservation of the MPM&rsquo”;“s artistic heritage, cooperation and collaboration with other similar museums and institutions. Finally, his brief will include controlling and supervising management of the documentary resources kept in the Museum Library and Archive. Both organisationally and in terms of duties, the new post of Artistic Director at the Museo Picasso Málaga is complemented by that of Museum Manager Director. This post is held by Elisa Maldonado, who is responsible for managing the Museum&rsquo”;“s human, economic, material and technical resources, as well as for commercial management of its various business lines and for optimising income and operations at the institution. Elisa Maldonado, who joined the Museum staff in early-2008, holds a degree in Law from the University of Valencia and an MBA in Legal Consultancy from the IE Business School. Moreover, she has long experience in managing cultural institutions. Officially opened on 27 October 2003, the Museo Picasso Málaga was founded in response to Pablo Picasso&rsquo”;“s wish that it should be possible to see his work in the city where he was born. The museum was established thanks to the combined efforts of Christine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, whose donations form the Museum collection, and the Autonomous Government of Andalusia, which sponsored an ambitious project to build a museum devoted to an artist whose styles and techniques changed the course of modern art. The Museo Picasso Málaga is governed by the Museo Picasso de Málaga Foundation and the Paul, Christine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso Foundation. The mission undertaken by these two bodies, which jointly promote the Museum, is to ensure the conservation, exhibition, study and dissemination of Pablo Picasso&rsquo”;“s work. Finally, the Museo Picasso Málaga Executive Council, made up of representatives from the two aforementioned foundations and chaired by Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, is the institution&rsquo”;"s governing body.