OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – “The 21st Century Art Museum” is the topic for a panel discussion at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art on Wednesday, May 11 at 6 p.m. Moderated by OKCMOA President and CEO E. Michael Whittington, the panel features three of the art museum profession’s leading innovators, Julián Zugazagoitia, Kaywin Feldman and Judith M. Koke. Part of the James C. Meade Friends’ Lecture Series, this panel discussion will focus on the evolution of art museums and expectations for future growth and development in the museum field.
“We’re fortunate to have three dynamic and innovative art museum leaders to close out this Meade Lecture Series season,” said President and CEO E. Michael Whittington. “Each has made a significant impact on their museums and the relationships with their communities. They’re thinking in new and exciting ways and I’m eagerly looking forward to our discussion.”
Kaywin Feldman has been the Duncan and Nivin MacMillan Director and President of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) since 2008. Feldman is the current board chair of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), a trustee of National Arts Strategies (NAS) and The Chipstone Foundation and past president of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD). During her tenure, Mia has strengthened its national presence with ambitious special exhibitions, including “More Real?: Art in the Age of Truthiness” (Mia’s first blockbuster contemporary art exhibition), “Rembrandt in America” and “China’s Terracotta Warriors.” Feldman led the creation of a contemporary art department, the reinstallation and reimagining of the museum’s African art galleries and the launching of innovative programming such as the “Sound.Art.Mia” concert series.
Julián Zugazagoitia brought his passion for the arts to Kansas City in 2010 as the Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell Director & CEO of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. He is known for his high-energy leadership, his art connoisseurship and his community spirit. Under his guidance, The Nelson-Atkins has pursued successful collaborations with other nonprofits, corporations and art museums, encouraging staff to unleash the power of art with dynamic educational practices that include groundbreaking technology, unconventional gallery locations and interactive settings. He oversaw the completion of a new museum strategic plan, began a new partnership with the Capitoline Museums in Rome and negotiated the loan of the museum’s ancient Chinese scrolls with Shanghai. Before leading El Museo, Zugazagoitia worked at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York as executive assistant to the director and also worked as a consultant and curator with UNESCO and the Getty Conservation Institute.
Judith M. Koke is the Richard and Elizabeth Currie Chief, Public Programming and Learning at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She came to this position from The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, where she was the director of education and interpretive programs. In that capacity, she led the institutional change required from moving from a place where teaching happened to a platform for learning. Prior to that post, she was deputy director for education and public programming at the Art Gallery of Ontario, where she developed and implemented a pan-institutional program of visitor research, leading a cultural change to support data-driven, visitor-centered decision making. She has spent many years in visitor research, both internally and as a consultant, and has taught at the University of Toronto, George Washington University and the University of Colorado.
The James C. Meade Friends’ Lecture Series supports the Museum’s mission of enriching lives through the visual arts. Named for Lifetime Trustee and Friends supporter James C. Meade, the series features internationally recognized speakers, including curators, critics, collectors and cultural figures that engage and educate audiences with current perspectives in the visual arts.
The lecture is free for Museum members and $5 non-members. Seating is limited; tickets are required for the lecture and will be available at the door. The lecture will be held in the Samuel Roberts Noble Theater at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
