Dr. Jay Xu

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Director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco since 2008, Dr. Jay Xu is the first Chinese American director at a major American art museum. Xu earned his MA and PhD in early Chinese art and archaeology at Princeton University, and has had more than thirty years of extensive international museum as a research scholar, curator, and museum director. He has held administrative and curatorial positions at the Shanghai Museum; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Seattle Art Museum; and Art Institute of Chicago. A dedicated, award-winning scholar of Chinese art, Xu is well-published, particularly on ancient Chinese bronzes and archaeology. He has also lectured globally on Asian art, including contemporary art, and on museum practices.  Dr. Xu is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors and the Committee of 100. He is the first Asian American museum director elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.