The Dortmunder Kunstverein has named art historian Julia Reich as its new artistic director, effective 1 December 2026. The announcement, issued in Dortmund on 1 October 2026 and reported by KUNSTFORUM International, said Reich's programme will begin in spring 2027. Board chair Marion Edelhoff said Reich would take responsibility for a Kunstverein that has built an independent and internationally noted profile over many years. With Reich, she said, the institution gains a perspective that honours what came before while setting new impulses for the future, adding that a new chapter would be written together with the team and the board, with curatorial and artistic courage and a strategic eye. Reich herself expressed delight at the appointment, looking forward to working with the Kunstverein's team, board and artists, and to developing the institution's programme with courage and continuity. The Kunstverein, located at Rheinische Strasse 1 in Dortmund, is one of the Ruhr region's established contemporary art institutions. The appointment fills the artistic leadership of the organisation as it plans its next phase. Reich studied art history and brings curatorial experience to a role that spans exhibition programming, publications, public outreach and the cultivation of regional and international partnerships, as outlined in the institution's earlier public call for the position. Details of the spring 2027 programme are expected in the coming months, when Reich will outline how she intends to balance the Kunstverein's local roots with its international ambitions at a moment when German art associations face shifting funding landscapes.