The Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) is getting a new leader, David Odo, who steps into the director and chief executive role on September 1. He's taking the reins from Halona Norton-Westbrook, who headed off to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, presumably to ponder how many tiny cowboy hats can fit on a Rodin.
Odo arrives from the Georgia Museum of Art, where he served as director and chief curator. While there, he managed to almost double the museum's revenue (a cool 141% bump) and boost visitor numbers to a respectable 61,000 annually. Because apparently, art can pay the bills.
He's no stranger to the art world's hallowed halls, having held leadership positions at Harvard Art Museums and Yale University Art Gallery, with stints at the Rijksmuseum and Smithsonian. His specialty? 19th-century Japanese photography, which sounds like an excellent dinner party conversation starter.
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This new gig is a homecoming for Odo, who grew up in Hawai‘i. His father, Franklin Odo, was a renowned scholar and even launched the University of Hawai‘i’s ethnic studies program back in '78. So, you could say intellectual curiosity runs in the family.
Odo fondly remembers his childhood visits to HoMA, where the Buddhist sculptures apparently sparked his early interest in world religions. Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying for anyone who just thought museums were places with really old stuff.
He's keen to honor the museum's history while prepping it for its next century. Because apparently, turning 100 isn't just for people anymore. HoMA hits its centennial next year, and board chair Amber Strong Makaiau is thrilled about Odo's blend of local understanding and international museum chops. He's got the experience, the vision, and presumably, a very large cake order in his future.
