Smithsonian Museum Director to Join Guggenheim
Melissa Chiu, 54, who has served as director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for 12 years, announced her decision to leave the Smithsonian Institution to become the director of the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
In an interview on Thursday, Chiu emphasized that her departure was unrelated to former President Donald Trump’s attempts to influence the Smithsonian.
“Not at all,” Chiu told . “The Guggenheim is an extraordinary institution. It is one of the major museums in our field. It was never part of my decision-making process.”
Chiu is the fourth Smithsonian director to leave in the past two years. Stephanie Stebich, former head of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, was removed in summer 2024 after years of staff complaints regarding her management. Kevin Young, director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, stepped down after four years, with Shanita Brackett now serving as acting director. Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, resigned following public pressure from Trump, who claimed on social media that he had fired her because she was “a highly partisan person” and a “strong supporter” of diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Chiu’s Background and Contributions
Born in Darwin, Australia, Melissa Chiu spent a decade as director of the Asia Society in New York before joining the Hirshhorn in 2014. During her tenure, she has been credited with driving digital innovation and expanding the museum’s educational programs.
Chiu successfully raised nearly $250 million and oversaw an expansion of the museum’s permanent collection. Her legacy also includes a revamped sculpture garden, which is scheduled to reopen to the public this autumn.
“It has been a moment of change for actually a long time,” the 54-year-old reflected. “I would say dating back to the first days of Covid that, as a museum in the public sphere with a national mission and a mandate to serve the public, we have worked through all of these challenges.
“Each one forced us in a way to develop a set of new skills with which to fulfill our mission, whether it was us being physically closed and pivoting to an online presence, whether it was us coming to terms with inheriting an art history that needed to be broadened with new kinds of acquisitions, whether in media or from artists who were under-recognised before.
“Then we have today where there are different kinds of external pressures and a climate that is very different from even five years ago.”
Notable Exhibitions and Future Plans
One of the highlights of Chiu’s exhibition program was the 2017 show by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, which broke attendance records and was described as the “Hamilton of the DC art world.”
“It was a real game changer for the Hirshhorn,” Chiu recalled. “It was a show that I had always dreamed of. She was one of the first artists I met with and I proposed the show and she loved it. Kusama was certainly known at that time but that exhibition that we did in 2017 set a new appreciation for her Infinity Mirror Rooms that did not exist before.”
Chiu is scheduled to depart the Hirshhorn on 31 August before moving to the Guggenheim’s renowned Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building on Fifth Avenue. Aaron Seeto, the Hirshhorn’s deputy director, will serve as interim director.
Lonnie Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, praised Chiu’s leadership.
“Melissa has guided the Hirshhorn with thoughtfulness and purpose, strengthening its role as a national museum while supporting artists, scholars and the public. We are grateful for her leadership and wish her continued success in this next chapter.”
Context of Smithsonian and Political Pressures
Last year, Trump issued an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” accusing the Smithsonian of promoting narratives that portrayed American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive. In January of this year, the Smithsonian provided the White House with documents detailing its planned exhibits in response to a request for information about the museums’ plans to commemorate the 250th anniversary of US independence.
