MACTE, the Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Termoli, has named Rossella Farinotti as its new artistic director. The appointment takes effect on 1 December 2026, and her programme will be announced after her arrival, with the first exhibition under her direction scheduled for February 2027.

Farinotti succeeds Caterina Riva, who has led the museum since September 2020. The museum thanked Riva for her work over two terms and for her contribution to establishing its identity, programme and network of relationships. Farinotti was appointed directly by the board of directors and president Paolo De Matteis Larivera, following a selection process that began last spring. The board said her experience offered the expertise and vision needed to guide the museum through its next phase.

Farinotti is a curator, contemporary art critic and journalist whose work explores urban regeneration through contemporary art. She has been artistic director of Cremona Contemporanea since 2023 and executive director of the Archivio Gio' Pomodoro since 2016, and she teaches cultural promotion and art communication at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and NABA in Milan. Her projects include PORTOFRANCO in a former bank building in Castelfranco Veneto, How Far Should We Go? at Fondazione ICA Milano, and MALDIMARE, co-curated with Maurizio Cattelan. She has also curated projects connecting art and business for Sergio Rossi and Canali, and writes for Il Giornale dell'Arte, Flash Art Italia, MYmovies and Exibart.

Located in Termoli, in Italy's Molise region, MACTE promotes contemporary art and culture and cares for the collection of the Premio Termoli. Farinotti said she wanted to build on the museum's strength as a place rooted in its town, approaching it as somewhere that listens to Termoli and the people who live there, and creating new opportunities to engage with artists and their practices. The appointment comes as the museum looks towards a proposed expansion, with plans for additional spaces for the conservation and display of artworks, a contemporary art library and improved accessibility.