Making a Museum for the 21st Century, Part 1 of 5

This is an intensive five-day workshop open to undergraduates only. To register for this intensive workshop, please register on part 1 of 5.

This intensive week-long course will give students behind-the-scenes access to the Princeton University Art Museum, one of the nation’s great museums, with collections of over 100,000 works of art, ranging from ancient to contemporary and spanning the globe. The course will seek to grapple with important questions such as what it means to care for globe-spanning holdings in the post-colonial age; how those collections should evolve in the face of changing academic and societal needs; how a museum must find new ways of structuring its work beyond the tools inherited from the European Enlightenment in order to advance the work of diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism; and how a museum can be a resource in building stronger citizenship. The Museum director will provide a keynote address on the ways in which the designs for the new Museum building can shape new narratives and new forms of experience, positioning the Museum as a hub of campus life. Curators, educators, and a conservator will lead close-looking exercises in which students will delve deeply into individual masterpieces in the collections and consider the complex ways in which meaning is made. Individual classes will highlight collecting priorities, such as works by African-American artists; the ethical issues raised by cultural property ownership, particularly of works by Indigenous peoples; and the responsible care of objects.

Monday, January 18, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. EST: Juliana Ochs Dweck, Chief Curator, will lead an exercise in careful object-study and an examination of the complex legal and ethical issues involved in collecting and interpreting works of African art.

Tuesday, January 19, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. EST: Bryan Just, Peter Jay Sharp, Class of 1952, Curator and Lecturer in the Art of the Ancient Americas will provide an opportunity to explore specific works and discussion about the legal and ethical issues involved in the acquisition and interpretation of works of Indigenous peoples.

Wednesday, January 20, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. EST: Laura Giles, Heather and Paul G. Haaga Jr., Class of 1970, Curator of Prints and Drawings, and Veronica White, Curator of Academic Programs will lead an intensive, close-looking exercise featuring works on paper from the Museum prints and drawings collection, followed by a conversation about the history of collecting African-American art at the Museum.

Thursday, January 21, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. EST: James Steward, Art Museum Director will deliver a public keynote in which the he shares updates on the new design, and the concepts, ideas, and insights that are shaping it. The keynote will be followed by a facilitated conversation on the plans for participants in the course.

Friday, January 21, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. EST: Bart Devolder, Chief Conservator, will lead an in-depth discussion about specific works in the collection around issues of preservation, restoration, and conservation.

To request accommodations for this event, please contact the workshop or event facilitator at least 3 working days prior to the event.