The 2013 conference aimed to address a number of questions: What should museums of the twenty-first century look like? How should they display art and engage viewers? Is there a disruption taking place within current thought that should be addressed? There is no doubt that most museum growth in the next few decades will be in Asia. Bringing together museum leaders from across Asia, Europe, and the United States, the Summit explored the future of museums and outlined the challenges and opportunities in the cultural sector, the developing museum ecology in Asia, and opportunities for professional development and partnerships among museums.

Program Schedule

Thursday, November 21

Museum Leaders in Conversation: Making a Museum in the Twenty-first Century

At this free public event, leading museum professionals discussed the future of museums in the twenty-first century.

Caroline Collier, Director, Tate National, London
Glenn D. Lowry, Director, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Lars Nittve, Executive Director, M+, Hong Kong
Wang Chunchen, Head of Curatorial Research, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing
Moderated by Melissa Chiu, Museum Director and Senior Vice President, Global Arts and Cultural Programs, Asia Society

Part I

Part II

Friday, November 22

Welcome and Introduction

Melissa Chiu, Museum Director and Senior Vice President, Global Arts and Cultural Programs, Asia Society

Keynote Address

Glenn D. Lowry, Director, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Respondent: Alan Chong, Director, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore

Hiroshi Sugimoto, Artist: “Museums of the Future: An Artist’s Perspective”

Welcome and Introduction
Keynote Address

Museums of the Future

Panel Discussion I:
The Museum in the World

Museums today exist far beyond their physical spaces and localities. New technologies and media have made museum collections accessible in myriad ways and from practically anywhere in the world, with far-reaching implications for museums’ educational missions and curatorial strategies. In addition, the rapid proliferation of museums in Asia has brought a growing desire for international partnerships and collaborative exchange. This session explored the potential for museums to look beyond their physical spaces for opportunities to create new transnational experiences.
Janet Carding, Director and CEO, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
Sophie Makariou, Présidente, Musée national des arts asiatiques Guimet, Paris
Jessica Morgan, Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate Modern, London
Moderated by Hammad Nasar, Head of Research and Programmes, Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong

The Museum in the World, Part I

The Museum in the World, Part II

Panel Discussion II:
The Museum in the City

With prominent locations at the heart of cities, museums are well positioned to engage with audiences. For the first time in history, more than half the world’s population is living in towns and cities. This presents great challenges to museums. How can they use their locations to become truly participatory spaces? What is their value within their communities, and are they accessible to everyone in the community? What role do public and private museums play in the cultural ecology of a city? This panel focused on the museum in situ, exploring the different ways in which museums and art organizations engage with and create a community.

Caroline Collier, Director, Tate National, London
Yongwoo Lee, President, Gwangju Biennale Foundation, Gwangju
Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Director, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai
Moderated by Lars Nittve, Executive Director, M+, Hong Kong

Panel Discussion III:
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 on this subject, suggesting potential new models for the changing social and economic environment.
Michael Brand, Director, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Wang Chunchen, Head of Curatorial Research, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing
Yuko Hasegawa, Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
Moderated by Kimerly Rorschach, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle

Concluding Remarks

Melissa Chiu, Museum Director and Senior Vice President, Global Arts and Cultural Programs, Asia Society