New leadership named for the National Museum of African Art

Secretary Bunch has announced the appointment of both a Director and Deputy Director of the National Museum of African Art,

John K. Lapiana, who has served as interim director of NMAfA for the past two years, is the museum’s new director, while Heran Sereke-Brhan is deputy director. Both assumed their new positions November 4.

During his time as interim director Lapiana guided the museum through a transition phase, hiring staff and leading plans for the museum’s 60th anniversary this year. He has increased focus on the visitor experience, initiated an ambitious fundraising effort and continued implementation of the Smithsonian’s Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns policy that began with the repatriation of Benin bronzes in the museum’s collections to their place of origin, Nigeria.

Lapiana has served in a variety of leadership positions since joining the Smithsonian in 1998 as an attorney in the general counsel’s office. For six years, until 2013, he served as chief of staff for the Smithsonian Board of Regents. He also served as Deputy Under Secretary for Finance and Administration, Acting Assistant Secretary of Communication and External Affairs and Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Museums and Culture. Since March 2023, he has served concurrently as a senior advisor to the Under Secretary for Museums and Culture and interim director of the African Art Museum.

Heran Sereke-Brhan is the author of many publications on Ethiopian social and political history, arts, and material culture. She was most recently vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Arts Consulting Group. From 2019 to 2022, Heran was executive director of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, where she oversaw agency operations and personnel, managing a budget of over $42 million with nearly 1,000 grant awards for Washington artists and arts and humanities organizations.

She previously served as deputy director for the D.C. Mayor’s Office on African Affairs (2014–2017), overseeing programmatic initiatives and ensuring access to social services for immigrant African diaspora residents.

Sereke-Brhan has spent more than two decades conducting research on African histories and cultures; she also has produced several stage performances and the short film Ethiopia in Movement in addition to writing books and articles. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Mills College (now part of Northeastern University in Oakland, California) as well as a master’s degree and a doctorate in history, focusing on African, African American and Caribbean history, both from Michigan State University. She was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and lived there through high school.