The blooloop 50 Museum Influencer List 2023

Dr. Tonya Matthews is president & chief executive officer of the International African American Museum in South Carolina. The museum opened to visitors in 2023 after over 20 years of planning, fundraising and development at the historic Gadsden’s Wharf in Charleston. It is estimated that this was the landing place for 45% of all enslaved Africans in the US.

Today, the International African American Museum at Gadsden’s Wharf honours the history of African and African American people. The museum shows 12 permanent exhibitions, accompanied by a special exhibitions gallery. Outside, visitors can take time to reflect in the African Ancestors Memorial Garden, a series of outdoor spaces which seeks to connect the Charleston site with global African and African American history through the landscape.

Speaking to blooloop ahead of the opening, Matthews said: “One of the things that we’ve come to honour and understand is the power of story. Folks love stories. We know that we, as human beings, resonate with a really good story, and they last forever. So there is the power in story to change hearts and minds and to put our world in context.

“I also think that intuitively we can tell when stories have important elements that are missing. I think we can tell when stories are false, we can tell when stories have agendas. And that has been one of the challenges of telling the stories of African Americans. The way that we have told those stories has been fraught with various agendas, and various missing pieces.

“I think there’s a part of us that can feel that something is missing, that is not quite right. This robs a story of its power and its ability to challenge and disrupt this institutionalized and systematic racism.”

Matthews is an engineer, acclaimed poet, and thought leader in institutionalised equity and inclusion frameworks, social entrepreneurship, and the intersectionality of formal and informal education.

In 2016 she was named by Crain's Business as one of the Most Influential Women in Michigan, and in 2017 Career Mastered Magazine recognised her as a Trailblazer.  Matthews was appointed to serve on the National Assessment Governing Board by both Democratic and Republican administrations. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Science Education.

Matthews previously held the positions of president & CEO of the Michigan Science Centre and associate provost for inclusive workforce development at Wayne State University. She established The STEMinista Project while working at the Michigan Science Centre. This movement aims to empower girls in STEM-related occupations. With an inclusive focus on women of colour, she continues this work today with STEMinista Rising, a platform that supports professional women in STEM and the colleagues who endorse them.

Nora Aldabal is a prominent figure in the Al Ula Commission of Saudi Arabia (RCU), which was established in July 2017 to preserve and develop the 2,000-year-old archaeological and historical site of Al-'Ula, in the northwest of Saudi Arabia.

RCU is investing $5.2 billion in the first phase of AlUla, the world’s largest living museum, which is due to be completed in 2023. It is working alongside the French government agency Afalula on the $15bn project. Located 1,100 kilometres from Riyadh, AlUla covers an area of 22,561 square kilometres and includes ancient cultural heritage sites such as Hegra, the kingdom’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

AlUla’s first masterplan was unveiled in 2021 by Mohammad bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. In 2023, it was reported that Paris’ Centre Pompidou is partnering with Saudi Arabia on AlUla’s contemporary art museum. This partnership aims to support the enhancement and development of the cultural, artistic and creative aspects of the AlUla site

By reviving historical sites and smoothly integrating them into contemporary culture, Aldabal’s strategic insights and inventive approach have fostered a sense of identity and pride among both locals and visitors. Her inspiring leadership has contributed to Al Ula's global prominence and increased awareness of its rich cultural heritage.

One nominator said: “Nora Aldabal stands as a beacon of inspiration for her unwavering dedication and instrumental role in the development of cultural assets and planning. She is one of the leading young women in the country who are actively shaping its cultural landscape. Nora's commitment to preserving and enhancing Al Ula's rich heritage has been nothing short of remarkable. Through her tireless work, she has played a pivotal role in transforming the region into a global cultural destination, bridging the gap between the past and the present.”

As deputy director and chief curator, Naomi Beckwith oversees collections, exhibitions, publications, curatorial programmes, and archives at the Guggenheim Museum and provides strategic guidance for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation's global network of affiliate museums. She has a key role in forming the museum's vision and collaborates closely with the director, trustees, and employees on strategy planning and implementation for the entire institution as well as its international projects. Beckwith is the Guggenheim Museum's first Black chief curator and deputy director.

Beckwith is renowned for her work in curating exhibitions featuring artists of colour, dispelling false narratives of art history, and creating practices that increase the representation of the community that museums serve.

Prior to taking on her role at the Guggenheim, Beckwith was at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, where she has held curatorial posts since 2011 and served as Manilow Senior Curator since 2018. During her time with this institution, her exhibitions and publications centred on the impact of identity and the resonance of Black culture on multidisciplinary practices within global contemporary art. Beckwith worked on a number of key exhibitions such as Howardena Pindell: What Remains to Be Seen, the first survey of the artist, as well as The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 to Now and Homebodies.

In 2018, Beckwith chaired the first-ever Curatorial Leadership Summit at the Armory Show. She also serves on the boards of the Laundromat Project and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. She has been awarded fellowships by the Centre for Curatorial Leadership, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, the Whitney Museum of American Art's Independent Study Program, and other organisations. She received a history BA from Northwestern University in Chicago and an MA with distinction from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer and director of the Fels Planetarium at The Franklin Institute (TFI) has an extraordinary gift for communicating science. He has brought national recognition to Philadelphia and TFI and has made a significant impact on the scientific community. As director of the Fels Planetarium, Derrick is a leader in the industry. His signature shows, including To Sky & Back which he co-wrote and produced with Sky-Skan, have been viewed by millions of people.

He takes advantage of every avenue at his disposal to engage wide audiences with the marvels of science. Pitts appears frequently on History, Discovery, Science, NatGeo, NOVA, CBS, PBS, BBC, and MSNBC. He has made appearances on documentaries viewed all over the world as well as The Colbert Report and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

During the pandemic, Pitts Museum's popular Night Skies in the Observatory programme was conducted virtually. Ever since, people from all over the world have signed up for his monthly Night Skies@Home program on TFI's social media pages.

Since 2009, he has been a NASA Solar System Ambassador. He was the first to hold the "Astrobiology Ambassador" role for the NASA/MIRS/UNCF Special Program Corporation's Astrobiology Partnership Program.

Over 10,000 children were introduced to space science because of his leadership of the four-year, citywide astronomical observing programme, "City Skies; Linking Neighbourhoods to NASA through Urban Observing," which was funded in part by a NASA grant and aimed to encourage participation in NASA's missions among residents of Philadelphia's inner-city neighbourhoods. That programme gave rise to the present NASA-affiliated "Mission2Mars" programme, for which he serves as co-PI for TFI and content director.

The TFI is a creative leader in science and technology education. By providing access to practical science education, the attraction aims to ignite a passion for science learning.  Founded in 1824, it is the most popular museum in Pennsylvania and one of the top science institutions in the nation.

Scholar and writer Alondra Nelson is the Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Nelson previously served as deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In this role, she was the first African American and first woman of color to lead US science and technology policy. 

“Dr. Nelson has been a great advocate for science and technology, a fierce promoter of equitable outcomes for everyone, and an uplifting and supportive leader,” Arati Prabhakar, science advisor to the President of the United States, told Science magazine. “I am grateful for her service and friendship, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy will miss her smarts, dedication, and passion.”

As a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and a science and technology policy advisor, she has provided guidance to local, state, and federal governments, and legislators and civil society. Nelson has won many awards and honours, and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Medicine, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Nelson was selected by Nature to its international list of 10 people who shaped science in 2022. She has written several books, most recently The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation after the Genome, an award-winning look at the social implications of direct-to-consumer genetics. Her works also include Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination, Genetics and the Unsettled Past: The Collision of DNA, Race, and History, and Technicolor: Race, Technology, and Everyday Life.

Nelson is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of California at San Diego. She earned her PhD from New York University in 2003. She has received honorary degrees from Northeastern University, Rutgers University, and the City University of New York.

Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is chairperson of Qatar Museums, Doha Film Institute, Reach Out to Asia, and Qatar Leadership Centre.

Her service to her country in culture, leadership, education, and philanthropy has allowed her to facilitate cross-border talks. Her goal as a public servant is to invest in Qatar's local community and promote its diversity through visual arts. She is interested in human development, cultural regionalism, environmental sustainability, and economic progress through culture, education, conversation, and trade. Her public efforts and support of Qatar Vision 2030 are creating an exciting creative future for the country that will unite artistic groups across all disciplines.

As Qatar Museums chair, Sheikha Al Mayassa connects and amplifies the nation's increasing network of museums, heritage sites, festivals, public art projects, and initiatives. Qatar Museums offers authentic and inspiring cultural experiences, pioneers innovative research and environmental education through exhibitions and programming, and preserves and expands the nation's cultural offerings, sharing art and culture from MENASA with the world and enriching citizens, residents, and visitors. Qatar Museums initiates and supports projects that develop artistic talent and build a robust cultural infrastructure.

As chair of the Qatar Leadership Centre, she promotes young talent and professional development in Qatar. Qatar Leadership Centre (QLC) provides customised executive education to Qatari professionals from public and commercial institutions, established in 2010 by Amiri Decree as a national platform for leadership excellence. In cooperation with top universities, QLC's National Leadership Programme has graduated over 700 alumni.

Sheikha Al Mayassa is a member of the Qatar Foundation Board of Trustees, co-chairperson of Fashion Trust Arabia, vice-chairperson of Education Above All, and co-chairperson of Georgetown University Qatar's Joint Advisory Board. She is also a Rhode Island School of Design trustee, a founding member of the Environmental Council of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and a member of the collections council of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Noelle Trent is president and CEO of the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket, New England’s largest museum dedicated to preserving, conserving and interpreting the contributions of African Americans.

Trent has not only made her mark on some of the most significant museums dedicated to African American history and culture, such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, the National Civil Rights Museum, and most recently, the Museum of African American History, but she also has a long history of bringing about real change in the museum industry as a whole.

Trent has held positions on a number of boards and committees for associations of museums, such as the executive committee of the Association of African American Museums, the American Alliance of Museums Content Advisory Committee, and the programme chair of the American Association of State and Local History 2023 annual conference.

The Museum of African American History links the abolition of slavery, contemporary explorations of race and the fight for human rights with colonial and early African American history and culture in Boston and the greater New England region. The museum highlights, analyses, and preserves the origins of the abolitionist movement and the ongoing fight for human rights. It is home to four original African American buildings constructed at the nation's founding.

A not-for-profit historical organisation, the Museum was founded in 1963. It is well-known both nationally and internationally for its collection of historic sites in Boston and Nantucket, which includes two African Meeting Houses, Abiel Smith School, Seneca Boston- Florence Higginbotham House, and the Black Heritage Trails. Trent took on her role at the museum in summer 2023. Prior to this, she was director of interpretation, collections & education at the National Civil Rights Museum, a position she held from September 2015.

Adam Rozan is the director of programs and audience development at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. He has held many museum roles, working at institutions including the Oakland Museum of California, Harvard Art Museums, Boston Children’s Museum, and Boston’s Museum of Science. Before joining the Smithsonian, Rozan was director of audience engagement at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts.

Rozan is widely recognised as an audience-engagement innovator, a champion of change, and an advocate for guests. He teaches an audience engagement seminar at the Harvard University extension school’s museum studies programme, for which he is an advisory board member. Additionally, Rozan is a founding member of the International Audience Engagement network and lectures on the topic across the world.

Opened in January 1964 as the National Museum of History and Technology, the National Museum of American History is responsible for the acquisition, care and preservation of more than 1.7 million objects and 22,000 feet of archival documents. These represent the nation’s heritage in the areas of science, technology, society and culture. 

Inkyung Chang has worked as the founding director of the Iron Museum in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province since 2000. The museum is the first in Korea to be solely dedicated to the manufacturing process of iron and relevant cultural artefacts. In 2022, Chang was named vice president of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and will serve a three-year term as VP. 

She first started working with ICOM in 2001 as a board member for the ICOM Asia-Pacific Association. She later became chair of ICOM’s ASPAC. Between 2010 and 2016, Chang was vice-chair of ICOM Korea, also serving as an ICOM executive council member between 2013 and 2016. Additionally, she is a board member for the Seyun Cultural Foundation. Chang graduated from Seoul National University’s College of Fine Arts in 1982 and has an MFA in sculpture from the Boston University College of Fine Arts.

Sarah Sutton is CEO of Environment and Culture Partners, a non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening and broadening the environmental leadership of the cultural sector. Sutton co-founded the company in 2021 with Stephanie Shapiro.

For over 30 years, Sutton has led the US museum sector in sustainability and climate action, leading the field as a writer, consultant, presenter, and expert, and working to make a difference not only for museums but for the world as we face the climate crisis. She is the co-author of The Green Museum: A Primer on Environmental Practice, published in 2008, and was also a founding board member of AAM's professional network dedicated to sustainability.

In response to Donald Trump withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, Sutton launched #MuseumsForParis, allowing people from across the cultural sector to showcase how they were participating in climate action. She then went on to create and lead the cultural sector as part of We Are Still In, a 3,900+ coalition of non-federal US actors doing climate work. This work is now carried on as American Is All In, where she remains the sector lead.

Sutton was recognised with the AAM Environment and Climate Network’s first Individual Impact Award in 2019. She was the plenary speaker for the International Council of Museums and represented the US Cultural Sector's climate work at COP25. Sutton was one of 100 global representatives invited to advise ICOMOS-IPCC-UNESCO on the role of cultural heritage in IPCC Assessments, and also represented the US cultural sector at COP26.

"What is most compelling is Sarah’s genuine dedication to improving the world in light of a changing climate," said one nominator. "She does so not only to benefit cultural institutions (eg. become more energy efficient) but also to use the assets of cultural institutions (trusted mission-forward institutions) to educate the public about the importance of climate action. Sarah's work is making a difference and she will continue to be a leader, inspiration, partner, and advocate for museums and the world."