Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today the 15 participants in the second annual Global Museum Leaders Colloquium, to be held at the Museum April 13–23, 2015. The Metropolitan Museum hosts the colloquium to broaden international dialogue about museum management among directors from collecting institutions. 

“Last year’s inaugural GMLC established a significant new venue for deeper dialogue among museum leaders and a growing network of institutions and directors worldwide,” said Mr. Campbell. “I am encouraged by the many new collaborations, contacts, and initiatives that have evolved out of the GMLC already. For all of us here at the Met, it is an invaluable opportunity to get to know our international colleagues and benefit from their perspective and expertise.”

The 2015 GMLC participants include directors of national, municipal, private, and academic museums. They oversee museums with a total annual attendance of more than five million visitors and collections of nearly six million objects. Several of the participants in this invitational program are directors of the largest or second-largest museums in their respective countries. Some of the institutions are undergoing major renovation and expansion projects or are in the process of rethinking their strategic priorities. With the exception of China, India, and Peru, all of the represented countries are new to the GMLC. 

The participants, listed by country, are:

• BENIN, Fondation Zinsou / Musée d’Ouidah, Ouidah - Director Marie-Cecile Zinsou
• CAMEROON, Doual’art, Douala - Director Marilyn Douala Bell
• CHINA, Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Xi’an - Director Wang Weilin
• COLOMBIA, Museo del Oro, Bogotá - Director Maria Alicia Uribe Villegas
• EGYPT, Museums of Upper Egypt, Cairo - Director Sanaa Aly
• INDIA, The National Museum, New Delhi - Director Venu Vasudevan
• IRAN, The National Museum of Iran, Tehran – Director General Mahnaz Gorji
• NEW ZEALAND, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland - Director Rhana Devenport
• NIGERIA, The National Commission for Museums and Monuments – Director General Mallam Yusuf Abdallah UsmanPERU, Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), Lima - Director Natalia Majluf
• PHILIPPINES, The National Museum of the Philippines, Manila - Director Jeremy Barns
• SPAIN, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona – Director Pepe Serra
• UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, Sharjah Museums Department, Sharjah - Director General Manal Ataya
• UNITED KINGDOM, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford – Director Alexander Sturgis
• VIETNAM, Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, Da Nang - Director Vo Van Thang

“One of the assumptions behind the GMLC is that, despite their varied circumstances, museums share many common challenges,” said András Szántó, a museum analyst and writer on arts institutions who oversees the Colloquium and serves as its moderator. “As we add another group of museum leaders from more than a dozen new countries, the global reach and impact of the GMLC network are certain to increase exponentially."

Over the course of 11 days, the GMLC provides a 360-degree view of current museum practices worldwide, placing a strong emphasis on institutional leadership and strategic problem solving. A significant portion of the program is reserved for open dialogue among the invited directors, who present case studies on their institutions and meet in group workshops to address timely issues confronting museums and propose new models for collaboration. The GMLC participants will work with Metropolitan Museum experts across all departments and make group site visits to cultural institutions in New York and Washington, D.C.

The Global Museum Leaders Colloquium is made possible by Gilbert and Ildiko Butler.
Additional support has been provided by Jan and Marica Vilcek.
The Colloquium is also made possible in part by the Terra Foundation for American Art and Sotheby’s.

Information about the GMLC, including a video and the 2014 annual report, is available on the Metropolitan Museum’s GMLC webpage.