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She succeeds Lars-Christian Koch, who has moved to the State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony.

Henrietta Lidchi studied Anthropology at Durham University. She then completed her doctorate at the Open University in Milton Keynes with a thesis on "All in the Choosing Eye: Charity, Representation and Developing World".

Henrietta Lidchi began her professional career in 1994 at the British Museum in London, where she worked in various roles until 2002, including curator for the Asian and North American collections, head of the central planning department of the museum directorate and deputy head of the ethnography department. From 2005 to 2017, she worked at the National Museum Scotland in Edinburgh, including as Head of the World Cultures Department. Here she was also responsible for the "Revealing Cultures" project and the design of the World Cultures Galleries, which was accompanied by a comprehensive museum remodelling.

After working at the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen in the Netherlands, she moved to the United States in 2022 as Executive Director of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe.

SPK President Marion Ackermann says: "I am delighted that in Henrietta Lidchi we have gained a director for the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art who is not only internationally experienced and well-connected, but also sees her new position as more than just a museum task. For her, the Humboldt Forum is a 'narrative space' in which curatorial, social and political issues unfold on an equal footing. She is concerned with attracting new target groups and with the question of what actually constitutes a museum today and how it should develop. It is precisely this discourse that is important to us."

Henrietta Lidchi emphasises: "It is a great honour for me to have been appointed Director of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art at this special moment in their history. This position offers me the unique opportunity to contribute to the further development of one of Europe's most important museums, which is endeavouring to expand and deepen its relevance. These are challenging times for museums whose mission is to inspire and engage a diverse audience in a changing political climate in Europe and beyond. I look forward to working with all staff and taking up my new role in 2026."

Press images for download: https://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder.html