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VISHAKHA
N. DESAI
TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF ASIA SOCIETY
April 1, 2004, New York, NY - Richard C. Holbrooke, Chairman
of the Asia Society Board of Trustees, announced today that Vishakha
N. Desai has been selected to be the Society’s sixth president.
She succeeds Nicholas Platt who is retiring this summer after twelve
years as president.
Ambassador Holbrooke remarked, “We have chosen Vishakha
Desai because she is the best possible leader for the next
generation of the Asia Society. Asia has changed. The U.S.
has changed. And certainly the importance of Asian Americans
in our society has changed. Asia Society has changed as well.
Dr. Desai’s appointment as president represents a series
of exhilarating firsts. Through her thirteen years of personal
and professional dedication to our organization, she brings
an unprecedented understanding of arts and culture in the
broader social, political, and economic context. Dr. Desai’s
strengths and vision combined make her the ideal leader for
this important and dynamic organization.”
Since 1990 when she was named the Director of the Galleries,
Dr. Desai has had a distinguished career at Asia Society,
where she assumed progressively major roles and responsibilities,
her most recent being Senior Vice President and Director of
the Museum and Cultural Programs. She has built an international
reputation for introducing contemporary Asian art to a broad
audience and using it to illuminate historical trends and
their influence on the development of today’s societies.
She has also been at the forefront of integrating Asian American
issues into the Society’s public programs, which encompass
a wide array of creative, social, political, and business
topics.
Dr. Desai has been a critical leader at an institutional
level in recent years. She played an instrumental role in
the renovation of the Asia Society world headquarters in New
York City. The new facilities, which opened in fall 2001,
have sparked a fresh and contemporary vitality for the institution
resulting in diversification and significant growth of audiences
and funding sources.
John Thornton, head of the search committee and Asia Society
trustee commented, “Vishakha Desai brings an extraordinary
career and stature to this unique organization. No one is
better qualified to succeed Nick Platt and lead the Asia Society.
The trustees of the Society have offered their unanimous support
for this exciting decision by the committee.”
Vishakha N. Desai received her B.A. from Bombay University
and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Recipient
of numerous grants and fellowships from the National Endowment
for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the
Indo-U.S. Subcommission on Education and Culture, and the
American Institute of Indian Studies, Dr. Desai has published
extensively on traditional Indian and contemporary Asian art.
Her publications include catalogues of exhibitions she has
organized, such as Gods, Guardians and Lovers: Temple
Sculpture from North India A.D. 700-1200, and Life
at Court: Art for India’s Rulers, 16th-19th Centuries,
as well as articles articulating the need for the study of
contemporary Asian art.
Dr. Desai has lectured extensively on traditional and contemporary
Asian and Asian American art in the U.S., Asia and Europe, and has
served as an advisor and juror for numerous international projects
on contemporary art, including the 2003 Venice Biennale. She has
also been a frequent speaker to business audiences on the role of
culture in changing Asian societies. Prior to assuming her positions
at the Asia Society, Dr. Desai was at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
as a curator of Indian, Southeast Asian and Islamic art, as well
as a head of public programs and academic affairs. She has also
taught at the University of Massachusetts, Boston University and
Columbia University.
Dr. Desai has served in a leadership capacity for many organizations.
She currently sits on the boards of Citizens for NYC, the Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts and LEAP (Leadership Education for
Asian Pacifics), and the New York City Advisory Commission for Cultural
Affairs. During 1998-99, she served as the President of the Association
of Art Museum Directors (AAMD). She has also served on the Boards
of the South Asian Council of the Association of Asian Studies,
the College Art Association, ArtTable, and the Massachusetts Foundation
for the Humanities.
About Asia Society
Asia Society is America’s leading institution dedicated
to fostering understanding of Asia and communication between
Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific. A nonprofit,
nonpartisan educational institution, the Asia Society and
Museum presents a wide range of programs including major art
exhibitions, performances, media programs, international conferences
and lectures, and initiatives to improve elementary and secondary
education about Asia. The Asia Society is headquartered in
New York City, with regional centers in Washington, D.C.,
Houston, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Melbourne, Australia,
San Francisco, Manila and Shanghai. For more information,
contact the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021.
(212) 288-6400. (www.asiasociety.org)
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