ACM CONVERSATIONS

Museums in Motion

Vision, Space, and Collaboration in a Changing World

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This event is free but registration (with a $10 refundable deposit) is required.


How do museums stay relevant in a rapidly changing world? Join Chu Xiaobo, (Director of Shanghai Museum), and Clement Onn, (Director of ACM and Peranakan Museum) in a dialogue on the evolving role of museums today. Drawing on recent projects such as the opening of the new Shanghai Museum East Wing and their On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt exhibition (July 2024 - August 2025), the speakers share insights on how museums are reimagining their roles as cultural stewards, centres of learning, and community spaces.

This dialogue will be conducted in Mandarin with simultaneous interpretation in
English.


About the speakers


Chu Xiaobo (PhD in History) is the director of the Shanghai Museum. He has led major projects such as the Shanghai Museum East and the preservation of the Yangtze River Estuary No.2 Shipwreck. Previously, he was director of the Ningbo Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, director of the Ningbo Museum, and deputy director general of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage. With over 30 years of experience, Chu has led over 50 archaeological excavations of ancient sites, kilns, and tombs. He is also vice chair of Chinese Museums Association and chair of the Shanghai Museums Association.


Clement Onn is the director of the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum. His research interest lies in exchanges between Asia and Europe in the 16th and 18th centuries. His primary focus is on trading networks and the spread of the Christian faith in Asia, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, Japan, China, and the Philippines. He co-curated the exhibitions Christianity in Asia: Sacred Art and Visual Splendour; Port Cities: Multicultural Emporiums of Asia, 1500–1900; Life in Edo x Russel Wong in Kyoto; and Manila Galleon: From Asia to the Americas.