New director has long loved museums
Museums were a safe space for Elizabeth Yang-Hellewell as she was figuring out who she was and wanted to be in the world she saw around her. In the years since, she’s spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the experiences of other people who visit the museums where she’s worked. How students, teachers, families and communities engage with their local museum spaces, and how they’re reflected in the selection of artists and exhibitions chosen for those spaces, are questions she continues to work toward answering. It’s also an area of focus she brings into her new role as executive director and CEO of The New Children’s Museum in January.
“In total, I’ve spent a decade of my career at (the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego), first in education/curatorial and then in fundraising,” she said of her time at MCASD as chief advancement officer, working in corporate and foundation relations, and in education programming. “Through my various roles … I’ve had the space to develop philosophies around leadership, engagement, audience development, partnership, community and mission-driven fundraising. I’ll be bringing my collective experiences in these areas forward at NCM.”
Yang-Hellewell, 38, lives in Bonita with her wife and two children, and took some time to talk about the changes museums are experiencing in light of the pandemic and the focus on social justice, the role children’s museums can have in fostering a more equitable and accessible community, and learning to be her most authentic self. Q: What was your initial introduction to The New Children’s Museum?
A: I first visited the New Children’s Museum in 2008, as an educator working with MCASD’s Teen Art Council. We bounced in “No Rules … Except,” Brian Dick’s reinvention of Allan Kaprow’s mattress room. The space was fresh, and the founding ideology completely innovative — a contemporary art space designed for children, where audience members of all ages could engage with big, bold ideas through play.
Q: Why was working with them in this role something that you were interested in?
A: I have always been taken with the concept and the stunningly creative execution of the installations at NCM, first as a museum professional and a community member, and now as parent. The museum industry is undergoing a pivotal transformation of internal structures and systems that will forever, and for the better, change the narrative(s) around what museums are, how they are funded and by whom, how they function, and who they serve. I see NCM as an organization that has the potential to be on the forefront of this exciting change in the narrative of the industry. When the opportunity to lead this organization arose, I enthusiastically said yes.
Q: What are your children most drawn to/excited about when you visit The New Children’s Museum?
A: My 4-year-old loves the hands-on activities. Her first stop is almost always the clay studio, where she’ll linger for 30 minutes or longer making one clay creation after another. Wes Bruce’s “The Wonder Sound” installation is a favorite, too. She’s particularly taken with real and imagined animal imagery throughout the space. For a child who has spent a lot of time in more traditional museum spaces, she’s always thrilled with the idea of being able to touch, play in/on the art at NCM.
Q: As a parent, how do you see and understand the purpose and potential of children’s museums?
A: Children’s museums are unique spaces for play, exploration, learning and personal expression. Fundamentally, they come from a belief that investment in early childhood development and families is critical to the greater community good. Having positive and memorable museum experiences as a child can hopefully lead to feeling welcome in and a part of the larger cultural dialogue in museums as an adult.
I’ve thought a lot about the challenges facing museums today, as community resources and as employers, and I think that children’s museums are a place where we can push these boundaries and create new models. As young adult author, Madeleine L’Engle wrote, “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grownups, then you write it for children.” We need to build and support the museum that our community needs, and if that museum is too difficult for grown-ups, then we will build it for children.
Q: What do you envision when you think about developing more diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible experiences at the museum?
A: I believe that real, authentic, actionable change around diversity, equity, accessibility, inclusion and belonging in museums begins inside the organizations. In practice, this begins with examining who is sitting at the table making decisions, both at the board room table and the staff table. If decisions about audience and community are being made, are the voices of those communities being represented in clear and transparent decision-making processes? Continuing to do the critical work of making space for a diverse array of voices in how our museum moves forward is one of my priorities as I step into this role.
Q: You majored in philosophy and minored in art history at Smith College. What are some of the most memorable museum experiences you’ve had as a patron?
A: In my early 20s, I spent a lot of time in New York City wandering through museums, sketching, reading, journaling and generally using museums as safe spaces to grapple with who I was and who I wanted to be in the world. I was going through the process of coming out as queer, and I found museums to be liberating spaces for exploring my identity. I saw “Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance 1972–1985” at the Whitney (Museum of American Art) during this time, and it made a huge impact on me. The unraveling of personal and societal histories in Mendieta’s work resonated profoundly with me at that point in my journey. There are so many other museum, exhibition and program-related experiences like this one that punctuate my personal history and have influenced my professional trajectory.
Q: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: Be yourself. We give kids this advice all the time. It sounds so simple, but there’s a lot that can get in the way of being one’s authentic self in life and in work. I’m at a place in my life now where I do feel like I’m my most authentic self in all areas of my life, and it has made me a better leader, partner, collaborator and parent.
Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?
A: I’m first generation on my mother’s side. My mother’s family immigrated from Macau as Chinese political refugees to the United States in 1963 after a decade of delayed and canceled attempts. I don’t pretend to understand the complexities of immigrant experiences — they are plural experiences, personal, and unique to individuals and families. I do, however, feel very close to my own family’s experience of arriving in this country without means, without fluency in the language, and with a desire to “fit in,” which came with its own set of complexities. It’s certainly a part of my family’s story and, in turn, my own story.
Q: Please describe your ideal San Diego weekend.
A: It would start with breakfast at Nate’s Garden Grill in City Heights, followed by a walk around City Farmers Nursery (one of my kids’ favorite places). Dumplings would be involved at some point, as would some outside time (beach or mountains) and taking in a museum!