Halona Norton-Westbrook to leave for Fort Worth: “Leading the museum has been a dream and an honor”

For the past five years, Director and CEO Halona Norton-Westbrook has been a visionary leader and friend to the Honolulu Museum of Art. Under her leadership, the museum navigated a pandemic and emerged stronger with attendance up 80% over pre-Covid numbers (when museum visitation worldwide is decreasing), expanded the collection, and garnered endowment support.  
 
So it is with gratitude and excitement that we announce that on Feb. 25, Halona was appointed the next director of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Texas. Her last day at HoMA will be May 16. The HoMA board is launching a national search for a new director, with input from a broad range of leaders and community members. 
 
Halona joined the museum in January 2020, and throughout her tenure she has focused on celebrating and strengthening the community. Museum engagement has grown significantly through Art School classes and in-museum activities, tours, and experiences that have highlighted the museum’s renowned permanent collection as well as the dynamic exhibition program. 
 
“Leading the Honolulu Museum of Art for the past five years has been a dream and an honor,” says Halona. “As a nearly 100-year-old institution, there are countless individuals who have played a role in the Honolulu Museum of Art’s legacy. I’m thankful to have been part of a brilliant team of museum professionals and volunteers who continue to evaluate and evolve how a 21st-century museum can best serve its community. I’m proud of all that we have accomplished together to provide inclusive and meaningful experiences for our visitors.” 
 
Recent initiatives under her watch include a pilot program that promotes brain health in an art-making setting, launched in partnership with O‘ahu-based Brain Health Applied Research Institute (B+HARI); Art for Life, a program designed to engage adults ages 55 and older in artistic creation; and gallery installations that reimagine HoMA’s collection in new ways with an increasingly Hawai‘i-centered approach. 
 
Norton-Westbrook led HoMA through a successful American Alliance of Museums reaccreditation process and assembled a unified team of staff, board members and key stakeholders to create the museum’s first comprehensive strategic plan. She also spearheaded the successful $4 million restoration and expansion project of HoMA’s historic Art School and oversaw development of a Master Campus Site Plan. 
 
“Halona Norton-Westbrook’s steadfast leadership has guided the Honolulu Museum of Art through a period of positive transformational change,” says HoMA Board Chair Mike Watanabe. “Under her guidance, HoMA has recruited top talent to key positions, reconceptualized the Museum’s teaching curriculum, and built deeper connections through partnerships, programs, and exhibitions that reflect diverse perspectives. We look forward to building on these many achievements to serve the greater Honolulu community, who are the inspiration behind all of our efforts.”  
 
Halona succeeds Marla Price, who retired in 2024 after a 30-year tenure as director of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.