San Francisco
Photograph: Elodie Malonga

Future Museum Series: Whose Stories Get Told?

Bay Area museum leaders will share what happens when they let the community weigh in on what is shown in the gallery.

Future Museum Lab

​Join three Bay Area museum leaders on Monday, September 28 and hear what happens when communities help decide what goes in the galleries.

Museums increasingly invite communities and external partners to help shape what they show. That means handing over part of a decision museums have long made alone: Which stories get told, who tells them, and what ends up on the wall.

Three Bay Area leaders will each bring one concrete example from their own institution.

What has changed, what is asked of the museum in terms of resources, staffing and curatorial control, and what has come back in trust, feedback, and new audiences.

​This is part of a series of roundtables Swissnex in San Francisco is hosting with Bay Area museum professionals ahead of the Future Museum Lab, which brings six museum professionals from Switzerland to San Francisco in October 2026.

*This event is designed for a curated group of participants interested in the topic, and space is limited. Please indicate your interest in your registration and reach out to Lucas Hagin or Elodie Malonga for any questions. 

Speakers

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    Bio

    Demetri Broxton

    Executive Director at Root Division

    Demetri Broxton is an artist, curator, and arts leader whose work is rooted in cultural preservation, community, and the advancement of artists. He serves as Executive Director of Root Division, a San Francisco visual arts nonprofit supporting artists through subsidized studios, exhibitions, professional development, and arts education. Previously, he held leadership and curatorial roles at the Museum of the African Diaspora and the City of Berkeley.

    As an artist, Broxton creates intricately embellished mixed-media works that explore ancestry, migration, spirituality, masculinity, and the histories of the African and Filipino diasporas. Drawing from Louisiana Creole and Filipino heritage, his practice incorporates textiles, archival imagery, beads, cowrie shells, sequins, crystals, and precious metals. His work is held in the collections of the de Young Museum, Crocker Art Museum, Monterey Museum of Art, and Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery.

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    Bio

    Lisa Silberstein

    Experience Developer and Manager of Learning, Experience, and Programming at Oakland Museum of California

    Drawing on expertise in interpretation, Lisa works in partnership with curators, exhibit designers, and community collaborators to conceive of, develop, implement, and evaluate interpretive and participatory experiences for exhibitions and gallery installations that attend to OMCA visitors’ social, emotional, and cognitive needs and interests. She most recently worked on the exhibitions Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory, Good Fire: Tending Native Lands, Calli: The Art of Xicanx Peoples, and Students on Strike: Holding Institutions to Account. Lisa has worked at the Oakland Museum of California since 2008. Prior to coming to OMCA, she was the Curatorial Assistant at the CJM in San Francisco and helped start Voces de Cambio, a young women’s writing and photography program in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Lisa holds a Masters of Arts in Art History and Museum Studies from Tufts University.

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    Bio

    Monetta White

    Executive Director & CEO of the Museum of the African Diaspora

    Monetta White, a San Francisco native, has dedicated her career to preserving African
    American culture and advocating for the community. With over 20 years of experience in
    civic engagement and entrepreneurship, she has collaborated with numerous non-profits,
    donors, and corporations to amplify impact and drive change.

    For the past six years, Monetta has served as the Executive Director and CEO of the
    Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), leading the institution through the challenges of
    the COVID-19 pandemic and now into an ambitious new chapter. Under her leadership,
    MoAD has played a pioneering role in showcasing renowned Black artists and curators
    locally and internationally.

    She spearheaded a groundbreaking partnership with SFMOMA to establish a joint
    curatorial position, nurturing the next generation of BIPOC art leaders. Guided by her
    vision, the museum has achieved record-setting donor campaigns and art auctions,
    doubled its operating budget, expanded its global reach and digital presence, and created
    transformative opportunities for Black curators and artists.

    Monetta is also the founder of Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week, a growing cultural
    initiative celebrating and connecting the Black art ecosystem across the Bay Area.

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    Bio

    Lucas Hagin

    Moderator

    Creative Industries Program Manager