MOCA Names Museum Counsel Maria Seferian Interim Director

MOCA gets a new director for the time being.

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On Sept. 1, Jeffrey Deitch resigned from the position of director at MOCA after three unstable years in power and a mass exodus from the artists on the museum's board. Now MOCA has finally named someone to take over the responsibilities of director, at least for the time being. The museum's board has called upon MOCA's counsel since 2008, Maria Seferian to act as interim director. 

Seferian is a partner at the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, and she has contributed to the museum's fundraising efforts for the past five years. As an unpaid interim director, she will continue to work on bringing money into the museum and finding a new director, which she hopes to choose from a pool of international candidates by the end of the year.

"I believe in this institution and am committed to it and the city," Seferian told the LA Times. "I'm here to help bring these final pieces together and close out these initiatives—and others. We've got some great things ahead."

In addition to this change at MOCA, the co-chairs of the board of trustees, TV writer and producer Maria Arena Bell and lawyer-producer David Johnson, will step down from their positions at the end of the year.

RELATED: 10 Unexpected Reactions to Jeffrey Deitch Leaving MOCA

[via LA Times]

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