The Jewish Museum London has named the award-winning TV and film producer Sally Angel as its new CEO.
Angel will step into the role on 1 July, taking over from acting director Sue Shave, who has led the organisation for the past 18 months.
Shave steered the museum through a turbulent time as it moved out of its former Camden premises due to soaring costs and relaunched as a “museum without walls”.
The institution, which is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, is currently developing a new business model and searching for a permanent home in a more prominent location.
Angel has produced content for Channel 4, the BBC and international broadcasters and streamers including HBO, as well as for cinema, and has been recognised with awards from Emmy, Bafta, the Royal Television Society and Peabody. She is the creative director of Angelica Films.
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Before moving into independent television production, Angel worked at the BBC as an arts producer, and played a significant role in the launch of the corporation's commercial and digital channels.
A statement from the Jewish Museum London said that Angel’s experience would help to bring the museum “into a digital age by connecting to audiences through storytelling”.
This new digital focus will sit alongside the museum’s “commitment to illuminate and celebrate the story of Jews in Britain, in a new physical space, with regularly changing state-of-the-art exhibitions, up-to-date permanent displays, and open stores for audiences to enable wider engagement with the museum’s collections”.
The museum aims to offer visitors a “seamless physical and digital experience” and is planning to launch an online platform this summer to showcase 10,000 objects from its Designated collections.
The museum is continuing to support loans and educational outreach as it searches for a new premises. According to the museum, its reach has increased from nearly 28,000 visitors per year to approximately 155,000 across several regions in the UK in the past year.
It currently has items on display at Tate, the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, JW3, Hackney Museum and Manchester Jewish Museum, as well as pop-up exhibitions at Swiss Cottage Library.
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Angel said: “Jewish Museum London tells the story of the Jewish community and its role in the life and society of the United Kingdom, past, present and future. The museum now has an extraordinary opportunity to connect its world class collection with the power of story and use digital innovation to reach wider and more diverse audiences.
“The story of Jews in Britain speaks of freedom, persecution, resilience and belonging. My ambition is that the museum will be a beacon of hope for all minorities living here and more than a small step against prejudice.”
Nick Viner, chair of trustees at Jewish Museum London, said: “We would like to extend our thanks to Sue Shave for successfully driving the seamless transition of Jewish Museum London over the past 18 months. We are delighted she is handing the reins over to Sally with the museum in such a strong position for this new and exciting chapter.”
Viner said that Angel’s experience as a storyteller “makes her ideally suited to bring the history of the Jewish people of Great Britain to life”.
He added: “We are hugely honoured that she is joining us as our new chief executive and look forward to seeing the positive impact that she will make.
“Her digital vision to future-proof Jewish Museum London will add a new dimension to the museum’s physical displays of its unique collections, heritage and stories, heralding a new era that will appeal to audiences old and new for many years to come.”
Shave said: “It has been a privilege to be the acting director of the Jewish Museum London during one of the most significant periods of its history. I am immensely proud of our extraordinary achievements in becoming a Museum without Walls and increasing our reach around the UK telling key Jewish stories through our collections and programmes.
“The museum is in good hands with an excellent team and great foundations for an exciting future.”
