Art Museum to open on Halloween with 24-hour open house

It’s not a trick: After several delays, the Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) will open on Halloween, treating the public to a 24-hour open house.

The opening announcement from the PUAM website previewed the two inaugural special exhibitions. The first, called “Princeton Collects,” “highlights transformative works of art donated in honor of the Museum’s new building.” The other, called “Toshiko Takaezu: Dialogues in Clay,” includes the former Princeton Professor and artist's ceramic artwork, drawing from “traditional Japanese techniques to explore clay and glaze through gesture and abstraction.”

Kayleen Gowers ’25, Founder and President of the Princeton Architecture Club, told The Daily Princetonian, “I’m definitely excited. I think there’s been a lot of anticipation around the new museum.”

“I know they’re hanging some of the artwork now, which is super cool,” she added. Gowers previously published a column in the ‘Prince’ arguing that students should give the new museum building — a hulking structure that has drawn criticism from students for its appearance — a second look.

A University announcement highlighted art pieces that will be physically integrated into the architecture of the building, such as a 16th-century Mallorcan stairway that has been rebuilt in the museum over the past nine months, a Renaissance-era stone window from the Vaucluse region of France, and three ancient Roman mosaics placed under glass flooring.

The months leading into the October opening will see more tours and events at PUAM. PUAM already hosted a “New Museum Perimeter Tour” for museum members on Monday, March 31 and will host more on April 14, May 5, and May 14.

On May 14, PUAM will also host a “Meet the New Curators” event with Curator of Asian Art Kit Brooks and Curator of Provenance MaryKate Cleary at Prospect House for members at the Curator’s Circle and above. There will also be an event for alumni and friends at Reunions 2025 called “Hidden Stories: Preparing a New Art Museum.” At the Event, Chris Newth, a director of collections and exhibitions, and Museum Director James Stewardwill will discuss the journey of preparing the new museum.

Some members of Princeton’s art world have also been preparing for the museum’s opening.

In anticipation of PUAM’s fall opening, the Department of Art and Archaeology announced in an email that its introductory course, ART 100: An Introduction to the History of Art: Meanings in the Visual Arts, would not be offered in Fall 2025 and instead in Spring 2026 and Fall 2026. ART 100 has been offered each fall semester since 2015, but the Spring 2026 course, which will be taught by Rachel Saunders, “will benefit from the reopening of the Princeton University Art Museum in its new building, and will be the first class to use the brand-new galleries as an extension of the classroom.”

As of Jan. 5, Art on Hulfish closed in preparation for the fall opening of PUAM. Art@Bainbridge will remain a permanent gallery space.

Thomas Catalano is an associate News editor for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Los Angeles, Calif. and typically covers University administration.

Cynthia Torres is an assistant News editor and an Archives contributor. She is from New Bedford, MA and typically covers University administration.