What should museums of the twenty-first century look like? How should they display art and engage viewers? Is there a "disruption" to the current thinking that should be addressed? With most museum growth in the coming decades projected to be in Asia, the inaugural Asia Society Arts & Museum Summit in Hong Kong brought together museum leaders from across Asia, Europe, and North America, to explore challenges and opportunities in the cultural sector today; the developing museum ecology in Asia; and professional development and partnerships among museums.

Download the Summit program (PDF)
Read the press release
Watch Summit video

Follow the Summit on social media using the hashtag #Museums21

Welcoming Remarks

Melissa Chiu, Director, Asia Society Museum, New York

Keynote Addresses

Glenn D. Lowry, Director, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Artist

Speakers

Michael Brand, Director, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Janet Carding, Director and CEO, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
Alan Chong, Director, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
Caroline Collier, Director, Tate National, London
Yuko Hasegawa, Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Yongwoo Lee, President, Gwangju Biennale Foundation
Sophie Makariou, Présidente, Musée national des arts asiatiques Guimet, Paris
Jessica Morgan, The Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate Modern, London
Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Director, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai
Hammad Nasar, Head of Research and Programmes, Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong
Lars Nittve, Executive Director, M+, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Hong Kong
Kim Rorschach, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle
Wang Chunchen, Head of Curatorial Research, Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum, Beijing

Discussion Topics

The Museum in the World
Museums today exist far beyond their physical spaces and localities. In addition, the rapid proliferation of museums in Asia has brought a growing desire for international partnerships and collaborative exchange. This session will explore the potential for museums to look beyond their physical spaces for opportunities to create new experiences.

The Museum in the City
With prominent locations at the heart of cities, museums are well positioned to engage with audiences. But being at the center of urban life also presents great challenges. This panel will focus on the museum in situ, exploring the different ways in which museums today engage with and create a community.

Inside the Museum: Future Propositions
As many Asian countries become more focused on arts and culture, the most extensive museum construction of the next decade will take place in Asia. This discussion will tackle the pertinent issues of our time from the perspective of museum leaders in order to construct the ideal museum model.

Summit Videos

Keynote by Glenn Lowry (30 min., 59 sec.)

"Museums of the Future"
Glenn Lowry, Alan Chong, Hiroshi Sugimoto (59 min., 19 sec.)

"The Museum in the World"
Hammad Nasar, Janet Carding, Sophie Makariou, and Jessica Morgan (33 min., 21 sec.)

"Museums in the City"
Caroline Collier, Yongwoo Lee, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Lars Nittve (55 min., 47 sec.)

"Inside the Museum—Future Propositions"
Yuko Hasegawa, Michael Brand, Wang Chunchen, Kimerly Rorschach (56 min., 25 sec.)

Closing Remarks
Melissa Chiu (4 min., 37 sec.)

About the Arts & Museum Network

The Arts & Museum Summit is part of a new initiative of Asia Society's Arts & Museum Network, the goal of which is to strengthen arts communities through the creation of opportunities for professional exchange and to share knowledge and expertise among museum professionals globally.

Acknowledgements

The 2013 Arts & Museum Summit is organized by Asia Society and held at Asia Society Hong Kong Center.

Major support for the Summit has been provided by the Getty Foundation.

Additional support for the Summit has been provided by H2 Foundation for Arts and Education Limited, Hallam Chow, The Fanzhi Foundation for Art and Education Limited, and The Mitch and Joleen Julis Contemporary Art Initiative.