Maike Cruse becomes director of Art Basel in Basel. The 47-year-old, who has been in charge of Gallery Weekend Berlin since 2014, complements the broader team following the departure of Marc Spiegler and the appointment of Noah Horowitz. Maike Cruse is solely responsible for the Basel edition, probably the most important art fair in the world. Its branches – in Miami Beach, Hong Kong and Paris – are managed by their own directors; Vincenzo de Bellis presides over them all. Cruse will already be responsible for the next issue in June this year. However, Basel is not a new place for her, she was head of the communications department there from 2008 to 2011.
Her Gallery Weekend was the showcase of the Berlin scene
With Maike Cruse, shortly before the 20th anniversary of its existence, which is due next year, the Gallery Weekend loses its dedicated director, who not only decisively developed it further, but also made it more professional. Over the past nine years, the big party of the Berlin galleries has turned into a cultural event – Cruse developed partnerships with sponsors, worked together with the Berlin Senate and cooperated with Berlin institutions.
After the end of the Berlin art fairs “abc contemporary” and “art berlin” – for which Maike Cruse was also responsible – it was the Gallery Weekend that depicted the vital but complicated art scene in the capital and, in May, became a showcase for the international collector became. Maike Cruse would like to remain connected to the German capital, she once ran an off-space there with the Forgotten Bar with a daily changing art program. Officially, however, there is no way around moving to Basel.