New Honolulu Museum of Art director grew up in Hawaii
COURTESY HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART
Sean O’Harrow, newly appointed director of the Honolulu Museum of Art, in his Iowa backyard
The Honolulu Museum of Art announced the hiring of a new director who grew up in Hawaii.
Sean O’Harrow will leave his post as director of the University of Iowa Museum of Art and return to Honolulu, where he graduated from the University Laboratory School. He received degrees in art history from Harvard and Cambridge universities and established a career in museum administration in England as well as the Midwest.
O’Harrow, 48, is the first director in the institution’s 90-year history to have grown up in Hawaii, according to a statement from the museum, which hired him following a seven-month international search. He starts work January 1.
“The happiest days of my life were spent at the Art Academy,” O’Harrow said by phone from Iowa City. “I spent my childhood in this museum, taking art classes and wandering around.”
Married with two sons, O’Harrow he looks forward to “building upon the Honolulu Museum of Art’s success in engaging the public, particularly in relation to schools.”
Under his leadership from 2010-2015, annual attendance at the University of Iowa museum increased more than 500 percent to 215,000 people and annual fundraising grew 90 percent to $2.9 million.
“Sean O’Harrow’s accomplishments and past experience, combined with his Hawaii roots, make him an ideal director to lead the Honolulu Museum of Art,” said Vi Loo, chairman of the board of trustees, in a statement.
2 responses to “New Honolulu Museum of Art director grew up in Hawaii”
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wow, this got buried back here. The largest and oldest art museum in the state hires a new director and this is where the SA puts it?
I was thinking the same thing. I guess it won’t make exciting and splashy news unless the kind of cultural matter being addressed is “Jawaiian” music, or if it has a word or two of “pidgin” in it’s name. I was born and raised on the Big Island, and I’m still saddened and disappointed that our local population cannot see beyond our little island state into what the rest of the world has to offer. We have a lot in Hawaii that is unique and should be honored and celebrated, but we too often close our eyes and ears to what’s going on elsewhere on the planet.