Dr. Jay Xu, Asian Art Museum Director, Will Step Down in 2025

Dr. Jay Xu, the Barbara Bass Bakar Director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum – Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, announced today the commencement of succession planning to culminate in 2025. 

Having joined the museum in 2008, Dr. Xu has led the museum through existential challenges, including the 2008 financial crisis and the ongoing pandemic, while achieving unprecedented growth and overseeing the museum’s transformation into a globally renowned destination for Asian and Asian American art. 

“With a transformed museum; a flourishing endowment and robust circle of local, national, and international donors; an original program of major historical and contemporary art exhibitions to come; expanding audiences excited about our innovative museum experience; and outstanding staff working at every level of the organization, now is the right time for me to begin planning for the Asian Art Museum’s next generation of leadership,” says Dr. Xu.  

He continues, “During my time as a leader here, we have seen how the role of museums continues to evolve in ever more relevant ways — from repositories of history to places we gather to rediscover the past, understand the present, and imagine the future. As we move in this direction together, it has been my distinct and ongoing honor to help tell a broader, richer, and more inclusive story not only of Asia, but also of the diverse America we live in — to ensure the Asian Art Museum truly is for all.” 

The Asian Art Commission and the Asian Art Museum Foundation, the dual governing boards of the museum, will undertake a methodical process of succession, as they prepare to begin an international search for the next director. 

Dr. Xu is the first Chinese American to serve as director at a major U.S. art museum, and the first Asian American museum director elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In December 2022, he was appointed to the United States Congressional Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture, a volunteer position in which he will serve as he continues in his role of museum director. 

Dr. Xu came to the Asian Art Museum with a mission to reimagine and diversify what a museum of Asian art in America could offer. In 2017, he spearheaded a $100 million capital campaign to fund the museum’s transformation, including the construction of the Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Exhibition Pavilion and the refurbishment of the museum’s collections galleries and education facilities. This transformation doubled the square footage for special exhibitions and created dedicated spaces for a much-admired, groundbreaking Asian and Asian American contemporary art program, a first for the museum and a catalyst for deepened engagement with the local arts community. 

Furthermore, under Dr. Xu’s guidance, the museum has forged critical international partnerships to grow its trademark strength in showcasing traditional Asian art by bringing the most significant exhibitions from Asia to American audiences. This diverse array of more than 100 exhibitions, associated programs, and award-winning publications have helped reshape the narrative of Asian history and culture outside of Asia.