Elaine Heumann Gurian

Elaine Heumann Gurian is an internationally recognized museum consultant and advisor whose work has shaped institutions worldwide. She specializes in helping museums at moments of change—whether starting, rebuilding, or redefining themselves. Her clients have included the Museum of the City of London, the Museum of Resistance in the Dominican Republic, the Capital Visitor Center in Washington, DC, and the National Children’s Museum. She has also advised the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Australia, the Jewish Museum Berlin, Te Papa in New Zealand, and others across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Gurian is widely published and influential in museum studies. Her book Civilizing the Museum: The Collected Writings of Elaine Heumann Gurian (Routledge, 2006) remains essential reading, and she continues to contribute chapters, lectures, and training worldwide. She has taught at the University of Michigan, the University of Gothenburg, and through Fulbright-supported programs in Argentina, among others.

She has also held leadership roles in major institutions. As Deputy Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, she oversaw its transition from startup to fully operational government museum. At the Smithsonian, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Museums, with responsibility for 14 museums and projects such as the African American Museum initiative. She previously led the Exhibit Center at the Boston Children’s Museum, known for pioneering family learning and accessibility programs, and held senior roles at the National Museum of the American Indian and Cranbrook Institute of Science.

Her contributions have been recognized with the American Association of Museums’ Distinguished Service Award and induction into its Centennial Honor Roll, among other honors. A frequent keynote speaker, Gurian continues to shape the museum field through her writing, teaching, and advisory work.

Elaine Heumann Gurian will be speaking at the MuseumNext Forecast Summit 2025 :

‘FLOOD THE ZONE BACK” Creating the Green Shoots of Resistance in the United States

The United States is in danger of becoming an autocracy and the cultural sector has been entirely too acquiescent in that process. Elaine Heumann Gurian talks about how that happened so easily, what is to be done urgently, and where green shoots of resistance can be seen.