James Peto has been appointed Head of Public Programmes at Wellcome Collection. Peto has been at the museum since it opened in 2007, co-curating, amongst others, its first temporary exhibition, The Heart and, as Chief Curator, managing a team that has delivered critically acclaimed and increasingly popular shows exploring the connections between life, art and medicine.
Peto takes over from Ken Arnold, who will become Creative Director at the Wellcome Trust, the global health foundation which runs Wellcome Collection, focussing on developing international opportunities for cultural collaboration and exchange. From summer 2016 Arnold will also run the Medical Museion in Copenhagen.
Peto will lead the exhibition, events and publications teams at Wellcome Collection and start his new role after a major expansion of the venue. A £17.5million development was completed in February this year to meet extraordinary demand. Built to cater for 100,000 Wellcome Collection has attracted over half a million yearly visits, and audiences continue to grow. Despite and because of this public appetite, the museum will continue to prioritise depth of engagement over numbers, and Peto will look to extend its innovative and experimental approach to programming and seeking to collaborate and commission creatively.
Peto's previous role, Head of Exhibitions, will be filled by Kate Forde. Previously Senior Curator, Forde has been at Wellcome Collection for nine years, leading the curation of highly successful exhibitions such as 'Dirt' and 'The Institute of Sexology'. Prior to Wellcome Collection, Forde worked at The Arts Council, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Tate.
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