A children’s museum would seem a world away from an artists’ collective. But Seth Cameron will be making that leap when he becomes the next executive director of the Children’s Museum of the Arts in SoHo, beginning Feb 3.

Mr. Cameron is a founder of the collective, known as the Bruce High Quality Foundation, and served for eight years as president of its alternative art school, BHQFU. He succeeds Barbara Hunt McLanahan, who died last June.

“Seth’s broad experience as an artist, educator, and administrator makes him the perfect choice to lead this institution,” William S. Floyd, the museum’s chairman, said in a statement.

Mr. Cameron, who previously served as creative director of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, said he looked forward to learning from young artists. “They know art isn’t a luxury or a need, yet somehow both and more — it’s how we all become a part of the world,” he said in a statement. “They know it is how we speak to each other and to ourselves.”