Jay Xu
{{Short description|Chinese-born American museum director (b. 1963)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jay Xu
| native_name = 许杰
| native_name_lang = zh
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1963}}
| birth_place = Shanghai, China
| alma_mater = Shanghai University,
Princeton University
| occupation = Art museum director, art historian, curator
}}
Jay Xu ({{Lang-zh|s=许杰}}; born 1963){{Cite web |last=Reilly |first=Janet |date=2021-10-06 |title=The Interview: Jay Xu's Journey |url=https://www.nobhillgazette.com/people/the_interview/the-interview-jay-xu-s-journey/article_00b397d4-9a34-5608-9811-293100d5b608.html |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=NobHillGazette.com |language=en}} is a Chinese-born American museum director, art historian, and curator.{{Cite web |last=Hamlin |first=Jesse |date=2008-03-12 |title=Chicago curator Jay Xu to run Asian Art Museum |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/chicago-curator-jay-xu-to-run-asian-art-museum-3224267.php |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}} He was the first Chinese-American curator of a major museum in the United States, serving as director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco from 2008 to 2025.{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |last3= |last4= |first4= |title=S.F. Asian Art Museum director plans to step down |url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/art-exhibits/sf-asian-art-museum-jay-xu-director-search-17896138 |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=Datebook {{!}} San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=writer |first=Greg Wong {{!}} Examiner staff |date=2025-01-22 |title=Asian Art Museum director confident in SF future |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/culture/museums-and-galleries/new-asian-art-museum-head-confident-in-long-term-sf-future/article_e0bf145c-d861-11ef-8b84-833e0c649f06.html |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=San Francisco Examiner |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Irshad |first=Zara |title=Asian Art Museum appoints new director and CEO |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/asian-art-museum-sf-20031894.php |website=The San Francisco Chronicle}}
Early life
Jay Xu was born in 1963 in Shanghai, China.{{Cite web |last=Cheng |first=Scarlet |date=2010-05-23 |title=Asian Art Museum's 'Shanghai' a taste of exhibits to come |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-may-23-la-ca-xu-20100523-story.html |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Cheng |first=Scarlet |date=2010-05-23 |title=The View from an East–West angle |pages=67 |work=The Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-the-view-from-an-e/125486175/ |access-date=2023-05-29 |via=Newspapers.com}} He attended Shanghai University. Xu worked as an assistant to the museum director Ma Chengyuan at the Shanghai Museum.{{Cite web |last1=Vaziri |first1=Aidin |last2=Bravo |first2=Tony |date=April 19, 2023 |title=S.F. Asian Art Museum director plans to step down |url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/art-exhibits/sf-asian-art-museum-jay-xu-director-search-17896138 |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=Datebook, San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}} Later, due to work reasons, he came into contact with Robert Bagley, a professor at Princeton University who came to Shanghai for academic exchanges.
Career
Xu moved to the United States in 1990, pursuing a M.A. degree and PhD program at Princeton University.{{Cite web |title=Jay Xu |url=https://sites.asiasociety.org/uschinaforum/jay-xu/ |website=Asia Society|date=23 October 2012 }} After graduation, he worked as a research fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from 1995 until 1996. Xu worked as the curator of Chinese art at the Seattle Art Museum from 1996 to 2003; and as the head of the Asian art department and chairman of the Department of Asian and Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago from 2003 to 2006.
Since June 2008, Xu has served as the director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, succeeding Emily Sano. Under his leadership, the Asian Art Museum avoided a financial crisis,{{Cite news |last=Cotter |first=Holland |date=2011-05-30 |title=A Storied Paradise, Tempered by Reality |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/arts/design/bali-art-ritual-performance-at-asian-art-museum-review.html |access-date=2023-05-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} growing its collection with more than 2,200 new art acquisitions and hosting at least 100 exhibitions. In 2017, Xu led a fundraising campaign to fund the museum's building renovation and expansion.{{Cite web |last=Desmarais |first=Charles |date=2016-03-01 |title=Asian Art Museum announces expansion |url=https://www.sfgate.com/art/article/Asian-Museum-unveils-expansion-plan-6863702.php |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2017-09-26 |title=Asian Art Museum Moves Toward $90 Million Transformation |url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/13809355/asian-art-museum-moves-toward-90-million-transformation |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=KQED |language=en-us}} In 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests, the museum removed the bust of Avery Brundage, someone accused of being a Nazi sympathizer and a racist.{{Cite news |last=Pogash |first=Carol |date=2020-06-15 |title=Asian Art Museum to Remove Bust of Patron. That's Just a Start. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/arts/design/avery-brundage-bust-asian-art-museum.html |access-date=2023-05-29 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Greschler |first=Gabriel |date=2020-07-24 |title=S.F. Asian Art Museum to remove bust of founding donor with antisemitic views |url=https://jweekly.com/2020/07/23/s-f-asian-art-museum-to-remove-bust-of-founding-donor-with-anti-semitic-views/ |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=J. |language=en-US}} During this time, the museum also decided to critically examine the provenance of the artwork in the collection.
In April 2023, Xu announced plans to step down from the Asian Art Museum in 2025, with Soyoung Lee officially replacing him as director and CEO in January 2025.{{Cite web |title=Soyoung Lee appointed as the next Director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco |url=https://korea.fas.harvard.edu/news/soyoung-lee-appointed-next-director-and-ceo-asian-art-museum-san-francisco |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=korea.fas.harvard.edu |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Hotchkiss |first=Sarah |date=2025-01-16 |title=Asian Art Museum Names New Director, Soyoung Lee {{!}} KQED |url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/13970380/asian-art-museum-new-director-soyoung-lee |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=www.kqed.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Asian Art Museum of San Francisco picks new director |url=https://artreview.com/asian-art-museum-of-san-francisco-picks-new-director/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=artreview.com |language=en}}
References
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Category:Shanghai University alumni
Category:Princeton University alumni
Category:Chinese emigrants to the United States
Category:American art curators
Category:American art historians