Marie Lavandier's career has been characterised by her alternating experience as director of heritage and artistic establishments, both in the regions and nationally. The attention paid to the public and to local roots, the demand for a policy of artistic and scientific excellence, and the management of high-level projects in the field of heritage restoration and conservation on a national and international scale, as well as collaboration with various levels of institutional and political representation, are the hallmarks of her work in her various roles.
Curator General of Heritage, art historian and anthropologist, and former student of the École Nationale du Patrimoine, Marie Lavandier was curator of the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Dreux from 1993 to 2000, before taking part in the creation of the Musée du Président Jacques Chirac, in Sarran in Corrèze, where she was director from 2000 to 2006. Deputy Director of Heritage and Collections at the Musée du Quai Branly from 2006 to 2010, she was in charge of the inventory of collections and the storage of more than 300,000 works. She was then appointed head of the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France until 2014, where she oversaw the restoration of Leonardo da Vinci with the Musée du Louvre, as well as the antechamber of the Grand Couvert at the Château de Versailles, and reconfigured research partnerships with the academic world as part of the major loan programme. Taking over as director of museums for the City of Nice from 2014 to 2016, she also chaired the board of ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, in Rome) from 2013 to 2017. In this role, she defined the institution's strategic priorities and organised thematic general assemblies for the 136 member countries.
Director of Louvre-Lens since September 2016, she has distinguished herself by the energy with which she has brought the museum together, making it a place of discovery and exchange for all publics. By taking up the challenge of thematic exhibitions combining the arts, disciplines and eras, she has succeeded in attracting a large and diverse public (570,000 admissions by 2022). During her term of office, Marie Lavandier has not hesitated to bring contemporary and performing art into the museum, affirming the Louvre-Lens as a comprehensive cultural space that is open and in touch with the times. In 2019, this desire for openness gave rise to a new scientific and cultural project, in consultation with the museum's residents, staff and partners. Convinced of the need to involve culture and heritage in national public policies and regional development, Marie Lavandier has taken up social issues such as the fight against racism and xenophobia, poverty and exclusion, school dropouts, access to qualifications and employment, illiteracy and health inequalities.
Marie Lavandier has placed the Louvre-Lens at the heart of an ecosystem aimed at transforming the region both culturally and economically, through a dynamic and fruitful collaboration between the museum, its institutional partners (the State, the Musée du Louvre and local authorities) and dozens of local players.
