Halona Norton-Westbrook closely examined the dozens of artworks hanging in a corridor of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, smiling at each painting’s details.
On this early August day, the museum’s education staff was showcasing pieces by teenagers who created works inspired by the Modern’s permanent collection during art camp.
As she strolled through the hall, Norton-Westbrook, 43, said she couldn’t help but think about how the Fort Worth institution is building the next generation of contemporary artists and how she’s vested with leading the museum into the future.
Norton-Westbrook joined the Modern as its new director July 1, succeeding the museum’s decadeslong leader Marla Price.
Price, who served in the role since 1992, ran the Modern during periods of transformational growth, marked not only by the institution moving to a new building in the Cultural District but also by the growth in size and quality of its permanent collection.
As Norton-Westbrook settled into her first month in the role, she talked about how she wants to implement a strategic plan to grow the Fort Worth museum stature both locally and internationally. When asked how she prepared to move past a controversial exhibition, she made it clear that her focus was on the future.
Past leadership prepares her for Fort Worth
Art has been at the center of Norton-Westbrook’s life since childhood, when she was immersed in the creativity of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Then as a college student, she was mesmerized by an exhibition that featured 15 room-sized video installations to contextualize media artist Bill Viola’s creative process.
Norton-Westbrook said she found herself thinking about how museum staff brought the artist’s vision to life for audiences. That led her to pursue museum management.
“The ability to be immersed in somebody’s creative process and then to be the connection between that person, that artist and the rest of the world, that’s what was exciting to me,” she said.
Norton-Westbrook spent five years as president and CEO of the Honolulu Museum of Art starting in January 2020. She developed the museum’s first comprehensive strategic plan, guided a $4 million expansion and secured major acquisitions. The museum saw its annual attendance jump 70% higher than that of pre-pandemic years.
Mike Watanabe, board chair of the Honolulu museum, said in February that Norton-Westbrook led through a period of “positive transformational change” that set a foundation for future growth.
When the opportunity to lead the Modern came into frame, Norton-Westbrook didn’t hesitate to throw her hat in the ring.
“(Fort Worth) is a place with deep roots but also a lot of ambitious vision and interest in future growth,” she said. “That combination of things makes it a really dynamic community to enter.”
The Modern’s director role came with prestige.
Moving past national controversy
In January, Fort Worth police seized photographs from the Modern as part of an investigation alleging the museum was displaying child pornography in its “Diaries of Home” exhibition.
Several of photographer Sally Mann’s images — originally featured in her 1992 book “Immediate Family” — showed her then-young children in the nude.
The case was dropped in late March after a grand jury declined to take action against the Modern. The investigation drew national attention. Some civil liberties groups said the police work impeded on First Amendment protections while Christian groups said the photographs normalized child exploitation.
Determined to move past the controversy, Norton-Westbrook said she’s spent her first month listening to museum staff, community members and art patrons to better understand how to shape exhibitions in the future.
“Whenever you walk into a new situation, the most important thing to do is to listen,” she said. “I’m really just trying to be open to dialogue, to feedback, to understanding at this moment.”
Beyond those conversations, Norton-Westbrook is dedicating time to crafting her artistic vision for the Modern.
A local lifeblood to art
The future of the Modern will include more community engagement, collaboration with curators and art acquisitions, she said.
The Modern draws international visitors, she said, but more Fort Worthians need to see themselves reflected in its art.
“I just want to see our audience grow and to see the Modern become something top of mind for everyone who lives here,” she said. “It’s the museum’s job to bring forward both the expected but the unexpected as well.”
For example, in Hawaii, her team balanced the museum’s connections with Hawaiian culture while attracting global art that hadn’t been showcased in the city.
Norton-Westbrook declined to share specific details about her plans for the future since she hasn’t presented it to the Modern’s trustees, but said she wants to expand the museum’s permanent collection of contemporary art.
The Modern has been celebrated for exhibits from prominent pop culture figures such as KAWS and Takashi Murakami, she said. Permanent pieces — such as Wangechi Mutu’s “The Seated III” sculpture — are not as frequently spotlighted since curators work in a cycle of planning seasonal exhibitions before working on the next.
The Fort Worth museum has opened five exhibitions since August 2024.
“We’re not giving enough space to the permanent collection, so adjusting the balance of how often we do that,” Norton-Westbrook said. “We also want to support our curators by giving them a longer runway of planning and conceiving.”
Andrea Karnes, chief curator at the Modern, is on board with Norton-Westbrook’s vision, highlighting how the museum director has already fostered a collaborative environment with the four-person curatorial team.
“She’s very present as a leader, but at the same time feeling nurturing to the staff,” Karnes said. “All of her ideas are great. She’s also listening to us and our ideas, so it feels like a real collegial exchange.”
Norton-Westbrook knows shaping the museum’s future will take time. She plans to lead the institution for the long haul, although she’s not sure she can match Price’s 30-year tenure.
For now, she’ll keep strolling through the Modern’s grounds, reminding herself the Fort Worth museum was where she was meant to be.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
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