ICMM Program
Keynote speakers
Dr Kim Sajet brings over 20 years-experience heading major cultural institutions and shaping museums as places for dialogue, scholarship and public engagement to her delivery of the keynote address on ‘courageous leadership’. Currently the Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum, Dr Sajet previously served for 12 years as Director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The Washington Post described her significant achievements in this role as having ‘expanded the definition of portraiture and widened the scope of people considered worthy of representation in the nation’s portrait gallery’.
Seb Chan, will be the keynote speaker for the theme, ‘Tomorrow’s Museum’. Director & CEO of ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) he has led the digital transformation of museums in the United States (Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum) and Australia (Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and ACMI). His work has won international awards in the museum, design and media spheres.
Seb serves on the international advisory board Art Science Museum (Singapore) and is a board member of the non-profit Tessitura Network (USA). He has also been an advisor to the National Museum of Australia, the National Heritage Board of Singapore, the Mellon Foundation’s Artstor and was a member of the Australian Government’s Gov2.0 Taskforce. In 2024, he was awarded the University of NSW Alumni Award for Art & Culture. In addition to his role at ACMI, he is Adjunct Professor in the School of Media and Communication, the College of Design and Social Context at RMIT.
Hon Hieu Van Le AC is the Chair of the Council of the Australian National Maritime Museum. A former Governor of South Australia, he will deliver a keynote presentation focusing on his experiences of arriving by boat as a refugee from Vietnam in 1977. In addition to holding senior government positions, including as Deputy and later Chair of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, he served as Lieutenant Governor for seven years before his appointment as Governor of South Australia in 2014. During his seven years in this role, Mr Le was patron of over 230 charitable and community organisations.
Dr Kim Sajet - Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum
Seb Chan - Director & CEO of ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image)
Photo by Eugene Hyland
Hon Hieu Van Le AC - Chair of the Council of the Australian National Maritime Museum
Photo by Marinco Kojdanovski
Indicative program
Sunday
| 16.00 | Reception and registration: Australian National Maritime Museum |
Monday
| 07.45 | Registration |
| 08:30 | Welcome |
| 09:00 | Courageous Leadership Keynote + Q&A, Dr Kim Sajet Director, Milwaukee Art Museum |
| 09:45 | Panel discussion followed by a coffee break |
| 10:45 | Plenary session |
| 12:00 | Lunch |
| 13:15 | Short presentations on the themes of historic ships and new projects followed by networking break |
| 14:45 | Workshops, forums, panels and curatorial tours |
| 16:30 | Reception on the tall ship James Craig whilst sailing on Sydney Harbour |
Tuesday
| 09:00 | Community Engagement Keynote + Q&A, Mereoni Camailakeba, Fiji National Museum |
| 09:45 | Panel discussion followed by a coffee break |
| 10:45 | Plenary session |
| 12:00 | Lunch |
| 13:15 | Short presentations on the theme of community engagement followed by networking break |
| 15:00 | Workshops, forums, panels and curatorial tours |
| 17:00 | Australian Museum tour and reception |
Wednesday
Historic Site Field Study Day
| 08:45 | Quarantine Station Historic Site, Manly. Tour and lunch |
| 14:00 | Cockatoo Island Historic Site, Sydney Harbour West. Tour and early evening BBQ |
Thursday
| 09:00 | Tomorrows Museum Keynote + Q&A, Seb Chan, Director, Australian Centre for the Moving Image |
| 09:45 | Panel discussion followed by a coffee break |
| 10:45 | Plenary session |
| 12:00 | Lunch |
| 13:15 | Short presentations on the theme of strategy and exhibitions followed by networking break |
| 15:00 | Workshops, forums, panels and curatorial tours |
| 17:00 | State Library maps and charts exhibition and drinks |
Friday
| 09:00 | THEME: Global themes, local opportunities Engagement Keynote + Q&A, Hieu Van Le, Chairman, Australian National Maritime Museum |
| 09:45 | Panel discussion followed by a coffee break |
| 10:45 | Lloyd Register Foundation Global Maritime History projects |
| 11:30 | ICMM Life Fellowship Award |
| 12:00 | Lunch |
| 13:15 | Short presentations on the theme of community engagement followed byICMM General meeting, including short reports from standing committees |
| 15:00 | Round up and reflection |
| Twilight sailing opportunity or free afternoon | |
| 18:00 | GALA DINNER at Australian National Maritime Museum |
