Museum Directors in Conversation

Perspectives on Strategy, Systems, and Sustainability

This talk is free. Registration (with a $10 refundable deposit) is required.
Click here to register


What does it take to sustain a world-class museum in an era of economic uncertainty?

Join us in conversation with two museum leaders as they explore the complexities of building and sustaining museums today. Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum and Clement Onn, Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum, will discuss critical aspects of museum development – from forging impactful partnerships to maintaining relevance in a fast-evolving cultural landscape.


About the speakers


Lynda Roscoe Hartigan is the executive director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum. Previously, she was chief curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where she led initiatives to diversify its collection. Lynda joined PEM in 2003 as its first chief curator, later becoming deputy director, and was instrumental in expanding its exhibitions and global leadership initiatives. Most recently, she served as deputy director and chief innovation officer at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada. She rejoined PEM in 2021, where she continues to drive the museum’s growth and innovation, building on its rich legacy as the nation’s oldest continually operating museum.


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.


^{Images:
Peabody Essex Museum: Anila Quayyum Agha: All the Flowers Are for Me 2025 (top), ACM: Light to Night performance on the ACM Green 2024 (bottom).}

Jointly presented by