Kara Kirk, former associate publisher at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, has been appointed publisher of the Getty Publications effective April 13. The position had been open for eight months while an international search for a replacement ensued following former publisher Gregory Britton’s resignation last year. Prior to working at MOMA, Kirk was general manager of publications at the Getty from 2002-2006, and director of publications and graphic design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She holds an MLA from Stanford University.
“I am delighted to be returning to the Getty and to have the chance to work with such a stellar team,” Kirk says. “It is an interesting moment to be a publisher. Until recently, art publishers have had very few options for digitizing their publications. There are many opportunities now to leverage digital technologies and to find new and innovative ways of publishing our content. The challenge is to find the proper balance between what has historically been our core practice, that is, printed books, and what is possible in the digital realm. Museums and academic publishers are grappling with how best to serve our audiences, and how we can use technology to serve them better and to reach new ones. Many of us have very rich content at our disposal, but the trick is to find the best possible way to make it available, given our resources. And we need to pace ourselves as the ground is shifting beneath us every day.”
Kirk will make her debut as publisher at the London International Book Fair in April.
