The Warhol Museum’s director to step down
He will depart after museum holds its 30th anniversary celebrations
The director of the The Andy Warhol Museum is slated to step down in May following its 30-year anniversary celebrations, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh has announced.
Patrick Moore has served as director of The Warhol for the last seven years. During his tenure, he helped expand the museum’s international reach and championed the $60 million North Shore economic development Pop District project.
“After having had a sabbatical in 2023 where my husband and I were able to spend three months at our home in Spain, I have decided our future is there, in his home country,” Mr. Moore said in a statement released Friday.
The Warhol deputy director Rachel Baron-Horn will serve as interim director while the museum conducts an international search for his successor.
Mr. Moore joined The Warhol in 2011 and, after a stint as interim director starting in mid-2016, he was promoted to director in 2017. He led the museum through the COVID-19 pandemic and curated Warhol exhibitions in China, Saudi Arabia and The Netherlands. Locally, he helped pave the way for a decadelong economic development initiative that is now entering its second phase.
Pop District, unveiled in 2022, is an initiative to turn the six blocks neighboring The Warhol on the eastern North Shore into a hub for arts, culture and entrepreneurship. It aims to propel economic development in the area, feature public artwork and provide youth development programs.
“The goal of this project is to make sure the next Andy Warhol doesn’t have to leave Pittsburgh to become Andy Warhol,” said Sam Reiman, director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, one of two organizations that donated a combined $25 million to kick-start the project.
A key Pop District component is the construction of a live performance venue to provide a space for concerts and community events. Approved by the Pittsburgh Planning Commission in the fall, it will be located at the intersection of Sandusky and East General Robinson streets, walking distance from The Warhol.
The Pop District is “an example of how creative communities throughout the country can be activated to boost and sustain a local economy through focusing on opportunities and experiences for young people,” Mr. Moore said in the statement.
Construction for the concert venue is tentatively expected to start this year, according to a spokesperson for the museum.
Prior to joining The Warhol, Mr. Moore spent 10 years at advocacy organization Alliance for the Arts in New York City. There, he created and oversaw “The Estate Project,” which focused on the impact of the AIDS crisis on the arts community.
The final exhibition of Mr. Moore’s tenure at the museum will be “KAWS + Warhol,” set to debut on May 17 as part of the museum’s 30-year anniversary weekend. The exhibit bridges the work of Brian Donnelly, the New Yorkbased artist known as KAWS, and Andy Warhol by exploring the dark themes present in their work.
KAWS will also debut a wooden sculpture to be displayed at Pop Park, the art garden feature of the Pop District. It will join displays from artists including Yoko Ono and Michael Loveland.
“My 13 years at The Warhol have been the most formative of my life, and I’m so grateful for having been given this opportunity,” Mr. Moore said.