Santa Monica : Museum Director Chosen

The Santa Monica Museum of Art, scheduled to open before year’s end, has a director.

Thomas Rhoads has been named director and chief administrative officer in charge of all staff activities, fund raising and financial management.

Rhoads, 35, comes to Santa Monica from the New York State Council on the Arts. He will oversee an international search for a director of exhibitions of the museum.

The Santa Monica Museum of Art is being built in a converted warehouse that once served as an egg-processing plant for Edgemar Farms. It is to be the centerpiece of the Edgemar Marketplace, a commercial and restaurant development project designed by architect Frank Gehry.

Santa Monica-based developer Abby Sher is developing the museum and Edgemar, at 2435 Main St. She said the museum, which will feature contemporary fine art exhibitions as well as dance and performing arts, is scheduled to open late this year.