Join James Steward as he guides you through the construction, buildout and curation of Princeton’s new 150,000 square foot museum facility, scheduled to open in late 2025. Spanning three floors, the new museum building at the center of campus will allow dramatically enlarged space for the exhibition and study of the museum’s encyclopedic collections, special exhibitions and art conservation, as well as object-study classrooms and office space for the 100-person museum staff.

Speaker

Steward has served as the Nancy A. Nasher—David J. Haemisegger, Class of 1976, Director of the Princeton University Art Museum since April 2009. There, he directs a staff of 110 with an operating budget of approximately $30 million and collections of over 115,000 works of art that span the globe and encompass over 5,000 years of human history. In addition, James serves as lecturer with the rank of professor in the Department of Art & Archaeology, is a faculty fellow of Rockefeller College and an honorary member of the classes of 1967 and 1970.

Prior to coming to Princeton, James served from 1998 to 2009 as director of the University of Michigan Museum of Art, where he oversaw the planning, design and construction for a major new building, recognized as one of the 10 best new buildings for 2010 by the American Institute of Architects.

James holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a doctorate in the history of art from Trinity College, Oxford University. He has authored numerous volumes and curated major touring exhibitions ranging from the art of eighteenth-century Italy, to Edvard Munch, to contemporary African American art. He is a recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, as well as the Chancellor’s Medal for distinguished service at the University of California, Berkeley, and is a member of the Order of St. Petersburg and a Knight of the Royal House of Portugal, for services to art and education.

Moderator 

Chris Olofson is an investor and entrepreneur in the legal technology sector. He is a member of Princeton's class of 1992, serves on the Advisory Council of the Princeton University Art Museum, and recently concluded a four-year term as chair of the University's national Annual Giving Committee. He collects contemporary photography and lives in Chicago.

This event is part of the TigerSide Chats lecture series and is open to the public. Register today!