It doesn’t have a building, but the Minnesota Museum of American Art now has a new boss.

Kristin Makholm, of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, has been hired as MMAA executive director.

The museum left its third downtown St. Paul location in March and is now looking at possible new sites for a permanent home.

A. David Kelly, chairman of the museum’s board of trustees, said of Makholm: “Her experience, knowledge and scholarship will be critical to the fulfillment of our vision for MMAA’s future, including our focus on American art with a strong emphasis on Minnesota and regional art.”

Makholm said the museum can fill a gap in the Twin Cities visual arts scene.

“In addition to focusing on its distinctive collection of American art, I foresee a dynamic program that embraces the scores of exceptional visual artists — both past and present — that have ties to Minnesota and the region, a program that engages new curatorial perspectives and integrates new media and recent developments in visual art practice,” she said.

According to today’s announcement of Makholm’s hiring, she has held curatorial and research positions at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Milwaukee Art Museum and St. Louis Art Museum. For the past five years, she has been the director of gallery and exhibition programs at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and program director for two MCAD-administered artist fellowship programs: the McKnight Artist Fellowships for Visual Artists and the Jerome Foundation Fellowships for Emerging Artists. She also served as an adjunct faculty member in MCAD’s liberal arts department.