Olga Viso, who has served as director of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for two years, announced today she’ll be stepping down at the end of the year. Viso will be taking her experience and successes in running the Hirshhorn to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

The expert on contemporary Latin American art began as an assistant curator at the museum 12 years ago, and quickly climbed the ladder as her skill in organization, event planning, and curatorial work shined. Viso is credited for bringing widely publicized events to the Hirshhorn, including the After Hours series, which have attracted new, younger crowds.

Under her artistic direction, the Hirshhorn has barreled forward into the kind of experimental art usually only seen in privately owned galleries, not the halls of an established museum. She has encouraged performance, video and installation art to have a significant presence in the venue, and assured that viewers and artists can interact through regular “Meet the Artist” and other events.

The Hirshhorn has remained relatively shielded from the Smithsonian Institution’s turmoil due largely to Viso’s leadership, with both her excitement for future events and her success at fundraising. She’ll begin her tenure as Director of the Walker Art Center, which recently doubled in size and boasts the nation’s largest urban sculpture park across the street, next January. The Hirshhorn’s search for a new directly will begin immediately.