Museum Studies at Leicester: Postgraduate Information Session

Time: HKT 7:00pm-8:00pm (GMT 11:00pm-12:00pm)

Please join us for a free public panel discussion with Professor Ross Parry, University of Leicester and cultural leaders from North America, South America and East Asia, and a chance to find out more about our Museum Studies postgraduate degree run jointly with Leicester and Hong Kong University’s School of Professional and Continuing Education.

‘Leading Ahead’ - A Global Leaders Panel
New Shapes of Leadership for the Twenty-First Century Museum

Time: HKT 8:00pm-9:30pm (GMT 12:00pm-13:30pm)

Panellists: 
Américo Castilla, Director and Founder of Fundación TyPA -Theory & Practice of the Arts
Rehana Mughal, Director, Arts China, British Council
Effie Kapsalis – Senior Digital Program Officer, Smithsonian Institution
Panel Chair: 
Prof Ross Parry, School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester

This century presents museums with an unprecedented intersection of local and global crises. From climate and pandemic emergency, to calls for systemic cultural change. At the same time the museum itself continues to reflect on its place in a changing and turbulent world. The museum project (the museum ‘vector’) never stops its own self-examination – what it should be, where it should act, and who it should ally. In this arena, the role of leaders becomes essential. As does the question of what shape ‘leadership’ should take – where it resides in the institution, how it appears, and through what approaches.  

With these prescient contexts in mind, this panel asks what shape leadership should take for the twenty-first century museum. Linking live across the world, this online session brings together cultural leaders with experience of leading in North America, South America, Middle East and East Asian contexts. Their different international experiences speak not only to the very best of what leadership can be in the museum today, but to how it can (and, perhaps, must) change as we look ahead - and lead ahead - together.

Biographies of Speakers

 Américo Castilla is the Director and Founder of Fundación TyPA -Theory & Practice of the Arts. Secretary of Cultural Heritage of Argentina (2016), and previously National Director of Heritage and Museums of Argentina (2003-2007). Director of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (2005-2007), where he succeeded in modifying its operating structure. He was the Director of the Cultural Program of Fundación Antorchas (1992-2003). Co-chair of the World Conference: Museums and Libraries in an Era of Social Participation, Salzburg, 2011. As a visual artist he represented Argentina in biennials such as São Paulo and Paris, and received, among others, the First National and Municipal Awards on Etching. Since 2013 he is the Academic Director of the TyPA Lab on Museum Management and Reimagining the Museum: The Museum Conference of the Americas. He is Honorary Professor at the Career of Museum Studies of the University of Leicester (UK). He directed the book El Museo en Escena. Política y Cultura en América Latina (Ed. Paidós, Buenos Aires, 2010).

Effie Kapsalis  is the Senior Program Officer for Digital Strategy in the Smithsonian’s Office of the Undersecretary for Museums and Culture. She leads the digital strategy for the American Women's History Initiative (AWHI), the first pan-Smithsonian initiative launched under the Smithsonian's strategic goal, "Reach 1 billion people a year with a digital-first strategy." She led the Smithsonian Open Access Initiative which launched in February 2020 releasing 2.8 million 2D and 3D images, metadata, and research data sets into the public domain to further the Smithsonian’s mission for “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” She is working with the Smithsonian’s interdisciplinary museums, libraries, archives, and research centers to increase the relevance and reach of this trusted data set. She has a decade experience in the private tech sector in educational and training software development, and received her Master of Industrial Design where she developed a life-long love for human-centered design.

Rehana Mughal is Director Arts and British Council China and Counsellor for Culture at the British Embassy, she is based in Beijing where she leads on strategy development and programmes to engage millions of people with arts culture and heritage. She has worked in the cultural sector for over 20 years managing national and international projects. Prior to working in China Rehana led a culture and sport programme across six countries in the Gulf at a pivotal moment in the growth of the arts sectors there. In the UK, Rehana worked at Arts Council England, Creativity, Culture and Education and the Southbank Centre. Rehana graduated from the Slade School of Art with a master’s degree in Fine Art and holds a master’s degree in Museum Studies from Leicester University. Rehana is passionate about the transformative power of culture and has a deep understanding of cultural relations in complex operating environments.