Buffalo, NY (WBEN) The Buffalo AKG Art Museum announced that Director Janne Sirén would resign from his post as the eleventh Director in the museum’s 164-year history in October 2026. The Board of Directors will develop its plans to fill the vacant position throughout the summer.
The museum says Sirén launched the Public Art Initiative, a unique model for sustainable public art programming predicated on a tripartite partnership between the museum and the public and private sectors. The museum says the Initiative has realized more than 60 public art projects in Western New York. It remains the only dedicated public art department at an American museum.
The museum says the hallmark of Sirén’s tenure is the creation of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the completion of the $230-million capital campaign that funded it. The project broke ground in 2019 and vastly expanded the museum’s exhibition space, renovated its existing historic facilities, and dramatically increased the integration of the museum’s campus into the surrounding urban landscape and Frederick Law Olmsted’s Delaware Park. The museum says its staff grew from 62 in April 2013 to more than 200 following the completion of the construction project, and the museum’s attendance of 340,000 in the year following its grand opening broke a 51-year record. The museum’s operating endowment also increased from $31.3 million in 2013 to $79.3 million in 2026.
"Dr. Sirén’s accomplishments are unique,” said Alice F. Jacobs, President of the Board of Directors. “He built both a world-class museum campus and a platform—one that connects the Buffalo AKG to its community in Western New York and to the global art world simultaneously. Under his leadership, the museum has celebrated its deep community roots and international presence; combining architecture, programs and networks to grow and sustain the museum for generations. Strong partnerships are at the heart of Dr. Sirén's tenure, including partnership with the Board, a collaboration I have valued enormously. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we will be forever grateful for all he has done for the museum and everyone it serves."
“It has been a great honor and privilege to lead and together with an exceptional team build and uplift the Buffalo AKG Art Museum,” said Janne Sirén, PhD, Peggy Pierce Elfvin Director. “I have lived in fourteen cities in seven culturally and linguistically distinct countries. Among all of them, Buffalo stands out as the most welcoming community, a city that is radiant, resilient, and filled with enormous potential. When I think of the past thirteen years, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for all the human connections that working at the AKG has generated and fostered. Our museum thrives thanks to our dedicated and tireless staff; artists whose creative energy and brilliance knows no bounds; a profoundly committed and thoughtful Board of Directors; forward-thinking and selfless elected officials; and a large cohort of visionary philanthropists and museum members in and beyond Buffalo, including those who hail from the Nordic region. Together we have realized big dreams and have given wings to the aspirations of artists and to the transformative power of art.
“What will I do next, colleagues and friends near and far might wonder. It’s simple: from the block of time that we call human life, I will carve out time for my family and for focused, impactful projects within the art world, working globally as a family ensemble with and for artists, museums and cultural organizations, companies and governments, and private individuals. I will also write and hopefully memorialize some legs of the journey from my native Finland, the land of songs and lakes, to Buffalo and beyond. Love, Learn, and Live—that’s my motto.”
The Board of Directors will develop its plans to fill the vacant position throughout the summer.
Siren will step down in October after 13 years
Siren will step down in October after 13 years
