A Globetrotter
MFAH hires an international art star with Met ties to lead its global outreach,Islamic program
Noted scholar and consultant Mahrukh Tarapor has been appointed senior advisor for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's international initiatives — a position tasked with expanding the museum's global outreach through the coordination of traveling exhibitions and loans of art as well as through the development of international academic and cultural relationships.
A distinguished expert in Islamic and South Asian art, Tarapor will start her tenure with a concentration on the MFAH's Arts of the Islamic World program, though her new post ultimately will cover a range of collaborative international projects. Her appointment is effective immediately.
"Mahrukh is amazing at what she does . . . she seems to circle the globe continuously. I always joked with her that she's like a B-52 bomber that can refuel in midair."
"As we searched for candidates to fill this position," MFAH director Gary Tinterow told CultureMap, "we looked for someone who could focus on Islamic, Indian and Mughal art in addition to being an impressive ambassador to forge relations with institutions around the world."
Tinterow noted that he and Tarapor have maintained a longstanding working relationship through their time together at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Tinerow was a curator and Tarapor a director of exhibitions and international affairs.
"Mahrukh is amazing at what she does . . . she seems to circle the globe continuously," he laughed. "I always joked with her that she's like a B-52 bomber that can refuel in midair."
During her 25 years at the Met, Tarapor helped to establish the museum as a leader in the international exchange of art and secured loans for high-profile exhibits like 2003's acclaimed Art of the First Cities and its 2008 follow-up Beyond Babylon. After retiring from the Met several years ago, she served as a consultant for major institutions like the Prado and British Museum, while maintaining a close relationship with the Indian government as a museum advisor.
At the MFAH, Tarapor's initial priorities will focus upon establishing the museum's Arts of the Islamic World gallery, the culmination of a five-year project aimed at creating a collection that reflects the regional and material diversity of the Islamic artistic tradition. The new galleries are slated to open in early 2013.
