13 November, 2026
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Aditya Birla Auditorium | On-site
Across the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, new museums, foundations, and cultural infrastructure are emerging at a pace few could have predicted a decade ago. This panel asks whether an art institution is truly scalable, and what scale can mean: physical expansion, programmatic reach, digital presence, or influence, for public and private institutions alike.
Two practitioners bring distinct vantage points. Lydia Yee, Artistic Director of Muara Arts, a new public gallery opening in Kuala Lumpur in November 2026, draws on three decades of curatorial work at the Whitechapel Gallery, Barbican Art Gallery, and The Bronx Museum of the Arts. Manuel Rabaté, CEO and Director of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, which is expanding towards a campus of nearly one million square feet, brings his experience as former Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Moderated by Minal Vazirani, co-founder of Saffronart and ART MUMBAI, the conversation will weigh the pros and cons of scaling, the challenges of opening a museum, and how an institution knows when it is truly ready to open its doors.
Lydia Yee is Artistic Director of Muara Arts, a new public gallery focusing on contemporary and modern art in Southeast Asia, which opens in Kuala Lumpur in November 2026. Spanning three decades, her curatorial work – in roles including Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery; Curator, Barbican Art Gallery and Senior Curator, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York – is marked by a long engagement with artists who have roots in Asia. A recipient of the Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship (2024–25) and a member of the Turner Prize jury (2024), Yee is also a senior curatorial advisor to YDP and a member of the external faculty for New Curators.
Manuel Rabaté is Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi. He brings more than 25 years of leadership in the global museum sector. Rabaté most recently served as Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi, a position he has held since 2016. Under his leadership, following the museum's opening in 2017, Louvre Abu Dhabi, recognized as the Arab world's first universal museum, grew into a globally influential cultural landmark, known for its ambitious international exhibition programme, expanding permanent collection, and strong focus on education and capacity-building, welcoming more than six million visitors to date. Rabaté has been associated with Louvre Abu Dhabi since its inception, joining Agence France-Muséums shortly after the intergovernmental agreement between France and Abu Dhabi that established the museum. At Agence France-Muséums, he served successively as Chief Financial Officer, Secretary General, and Chief Executive Officer (2008–2016), before joining the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi to support the museum's institutional launch. Earlier in his career, Rabaté was Deputy Director of Cultural Development at the Musée du quai Branly, Jacques Chirac, and taught arts and cultural management at Paris-Dauphine University and Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.
Minal Vazirani co-founded Saffronart in 2000 and has been a driving force behind the auction house’s growth, leading efforts across strategy, business development, technology, and finance. Her leadership has been pivotal in expanding the company’s operations and establishing its presence in Mumbai, Delhi, New York, and London. She has been an avid art collector for nearly three decades and has curated and organised exhibitions of Indian art both in India and internationally. She is a co-founder of ART MUMBAI, the city’s first dedicated art fair, featuring a meticulously curated array of modern and contemporary art from both India and South Asia as well as a robust roster of galleries and participation from foundations and distinguished art institutions. Minal has co-founded and leads the Saffronart Foundation, an arts organisation which aims to provoke and facilitate critical thinking with initiatives at the intersection of art, culture and social change. Additionally, she is the co-chair of the South Asia Acquisitions Committee at the Tate Modern, London, the chair of South Asia Committee for Women to Watch 2027 by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and on the advisory board of St+art Mumbai Urban Art Festival (MUAF). She also serves on the advisory board of the Aangan Trust, an NGO working to protect children from harm and exploitation across India. She has also served on advisory boards for the Friends of Sir JJ School of Art Trust and Time Out India, and co-chaired the FICCI Committee on Arts and Business. A sought-after industry expert, Minal is a regular panellist and speaker at art and jewellery events. She was a fellow of the Inaugural Class of Ananta Aspen’s Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She has contributed to the Art Asia Pacific Almanac to reflect on the trajectory of Indian art, and in 2005, she led a review of the development of Saffronart when the Harvard Business School put together a case study on the company, which continues to be studied by MBA students globally. Before founding Saffronart, Minal worked as a management consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton in Mumbai, where she handled projects across industries in the U.S., Southeast Asia, and India. She holds an MBA from INSEAD in France, where she was awarded the Sasakawa Fellowship, and a BSc in Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering with a minors focus on Art History and Indian History from the University of California, Los Angeles.
