The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has appointed Franklin Sirmans as chair of its board. The announcement, made on 10 November, also brings three new members onto the board: Cheryl Finley, Candice Hopkins and Suzi Kwon Cohen.

Sirmans has directed the Perez Art Museum Miami since 2015, overseeing the acquisition of more than a thousand works by donation or purchase. Before Miami he was department head and curator of contemporary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and earlier a curator at the Menil Collection. He also served as artistic director of Prospect.3 in New Orleans and has worked as a critic, editor and writer, including a period as editor-in-chief of ArtAsiaPacific.

He succeeds Deborah Willis, whose tenure as chair and board member has ended. Two other board members, Naomi Beckwith and Cary Davis, have also completed their terms. The board now numbers eighteen leaders drawn from artists, curators, scholars and arts professionals across the United States.

The foundation is among the largest grantmakers for the visual arts in the United States, supporting artists, museums and arts organisations, and it oversees publication of the Andy Warhol catalogue raisonne. Its president, Joel Wachs, said the foundation was honoured to welcome Sirmans and the three new members. Sirmans has served on the foundation's board since 2020, when he was first elected as a member.

As a curator, Sirmans has organised exhibitions including a survey of Noah Purifoy's assemblage sculpture and retrospectives for Blinky Palermo and Glenn Ligon. The foundation he now chairs is among the largest grantmakers for the visual arts in the United States, funding artists, museums and arts organisations across the country and internationally.