By Dirk Langeveld

SOUTHPORT — Early in his tenure as the executive director of the Pequot Library, Peter Van Heerden offered staffers a challenge: “If people aren’t going out to dinner and talking about what’s happening at the Pequot, we aren’t doing our job.”

Van Heerden, who has lived in Westport for the past 16 years, has consistently offered this challenge to the arts and cultural organizations he has led. He began the leadership role on Feb. 26th, with the library’s board of trustees praising him as someone who has led local institutions with a global perspective. 

Van Heerden said he is looking forward to expanding the library’s programming opportunities, engaging with younger families, and strengthening engagement with surrounding communities.

“I’m really excited for people to come share their vision for what is possible,” he said.

From South Africa to Connecticut

Van Heerden’s experience has encompassed both arts and cultural work as well as executive leadership in this field. He earned his bachelor’s degree in drama and classical civilization from Rhodes University and a master’s in theater and performance from the University of Cape Town. He spent 13 years teaching the arts, established his own artistic practice, and performed around the world. 

When he visited a friend in the Caribbean, Van Heerden met his future wife, Westport resident Renee Plato. He subsequently found a job in the town as the executive director of the Westport Arts Center, leading the institution from 2011 to 2015.

Van Heerden says he had an “amazing time” at his first role based in the United States. He recalls helping to lead exhibitions with both a hyperlocal and global focus, starting new outreach and education programs, and expanding the center’s arts programming to connect with youth in the Bridgeport public school system.

In 2015, Van Heerden became the executive director of the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University. Here he oversaw multiple world or U.S. premiere performances; expanded programming, fundraising, and student and faculty engagement; and again worked to grow the center’s outreach to schools in Bridgeport and Norwalk.

“That was just incredible,” he recalled. “My charge was to really open the doors and put more of an international portfolio of artists on the stage.” 

In January 2024, Van Heerden left the Quick Center and established the consulting firm Activate: Arts and Culture. The firm sought to “[transform] spaces into vibrant cultural hubs, empowering communities through innovative programming, strategic insights, and effective resource management.” After some time in this space, however, he was eager to return to a role where he could better connect with the community.

Returning home

Drawing on his past experience with water polo, Van Heerden briefly worked as the director of athletics and aquatics programming at the Greenwich YMCA. Then he learned that the Pequot Library was looking for a new executive director.

“It was almost like a coming home for me,” he said. “The first audience I stood in front of was at the Pequot Library, because the Westport Arts Center used to have their jazz programming there.”

First opened in 1894, the Pequot Library is unique in that it sits on three acres — including a Great Lawn — and has a special collection of over 30,000 items that are incorporated into the library’s programming, exhibitions, and workshops. Some notable objects include Shakespeare folios, Revolutionary War publications, anti-slavery pamphlets, and sermons from early New England history.

In a statement, the Pequot Library said it was looking for a leader who would be able to balance “preservation with innovation,” by recognizing that the library is both a community-centered cultural institution and a resource for historical research. The board of trustees were impressed by Van Heerden’s experience across education, public engagement, and philanthropy.

“We were looking for someone who understands that rare books and manuscripts are tools, not relics. Peter brings a rare combination of global experience, cultural fluency, and disciplined leadership,” said Ali Fellowes, president of the board. “He understands how historic institutions must evolve thoughtfully to remain vital, and how strong leadership creates the conditions for growth, trust, and impact.”

Shakespeare and more in the future

Van Heerden says building more awareness of the Pequot Library’s special collections will be one of his goals as executive director. He hopes to make the library more of a “third space,” a place in the community where people are eager to visit and engage in conversations and active learning.

One idea he has is to develop more programming around the library’s Shakespeare folios, early collections of the Bard’s work dating back as far as 1623.

“Shame on me if in three years’ time we don’t have a Shakespeare festival, or some Shakespeare performances happening on the lawn,” said Van Heerden.

He also hopes to engage more with younger families and encourage them to become donors, and to actively provide services to neighboring communities.

“When you go out into the community and bring people back through your door, it changes their perspective of how people look at us,” he said.

Dirk Langeveld

^{_{Dirk Langeveld has worked as a news reporter, content marketing specialist, and freelance writer. He is the author of “The Artful Dodger: The 20-Year Pursuit of World War I Draft Dodger Grover Cleveland Bergdoll” and has contributed to several books on Connecticut history.}}