Janne Sirén, who has directed the Albright Knox Gundlach Art Museum since 2013, will step down from his leadership role in October, the museum announced Wednesday.
Sirén, formally known as the Peggy Pierce Elfvin Director, had served as the director of Helsinki Art Museum in Finland before taking the job in Buffalo.
“It has been a great honor and privilege to lead and together with an exceptional team build and uplift the Buffalo AKG Art Museum,” said Sirén in a prepared statement. “I have lived in fourteen cities in seven culturally and linguistically distinct countries. Among all of them, Buffalo stands out as the most welcoming community, a city that is radiant, resilient, and filled with enormous potential. When I think of the past thirteen years, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for all the human connections that working at the AKG has generated and fostered.”
During Sirén’s tenure, what was then Albright-Knox Art Gallery introduced the Innovation Lab to educate young people in art, led public art installations throughout the city and region, and completed a $230 million capital campaign that allowed the institution to undergo an extensive expansion.
The funds include those from Jeffrey Gundlach, whose name was added to Albright and Knox to rename the center AKG Art Museum.
"Dr. Sirén’s accomplishments are unique,” said Alice F. Jacobs, board president, in a prepared statement. “He built both a world-class museum campus and a platform—one that connects the Buffalo AKG to its community in Western New York and to the global art world simultaneously. Under his leadership, the museum has celebrated its deep community roots and international presence; combining architecture, programs and networks to grow and sustain the museum for generations. Strong partnerships are at the heart of Dr. Sirén's tenure, including partnership with the Board, a collaboration I have valued enormously. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we will be forever grateful for all he has done for the museum and everyone it serves."
The Board of Directors will prepare a plan over the summer to fill the vacancy.
In the meantime, Sirén spoke of his future plans.
“What will I do next, colleagues and friends near and far might wonder. It’s simple: from the block of time that we call human life, I will carve out time for my family and for focused, impactful projects within the art world, working globally as a family ensemble with and for artists, museums and cultural organizations, companies and governments, and private individuals,” he said within his prepared statement. “I will also write and hopefully memorialize some legs of the journey from my native Finland, the land of songs and lakes, to Buffalo and beyond. Love, Learn, and Live—that’s my motto.”