Princeton’s Community on the Opening of the New Museum

Museum staff went out and about this summer to chat with University and community members about the opening of the new Museum this fall.

The first person we spoke with shared a sentiment that rings true for many after five years of construction. Jeron Fenton, a fourth-year PhD candidate in politics and social policy, is excited about a return to “normalcy” on this part of Princeton’s campus. As an undergraduate at Princeton, Jeron went to student events like Nassau Street Sampler and studied in the old building, and he looks forward to seeing what the new Museum has to offer.

Documentary filmmaker and editor Purcell Carson shared that she loved going to the old building to sit in the light-filled atrium for both work and relaxation. Purcell is particularly excited to see all of her favorite artworks on display again—especially El Anatsui’s Another Place (2014).

One of the Museum’s core tenets is to serve as a resource for teaching and research for the University community. Vinson Cunningham, visiting professor for Princeton’s Program in Journalism, looks forward to bringing his students to the Museum. He will be teaching a spring 2026 course on different ways of writing about people, using portraiture as a lens through which to examine the topic, and he is excited to use the Museum’s collections to further his students’ experiences. Vinson also plans to check out the new Museum with his family, as he loves taking his young daughter to see art. 

At the weekly farmer’s market in Hinds Plaza, we spoke to Tom Sereduk, the proprietor of Longview Flower Farm. Tom told us that he once visited the old Museum with the photographer Brett Weston, whose work was being exhibited at the time, and they made a full day of it, exploring the various artworks on view. Tom said he is a fan of Weston’s photographs, particularly those with a narrow field of focus and more abstracted forms. One of the Museum’s exhibitions for spring 2026 will feature work by the midcentury photographers Minor White, Harry Callahan, and Aaron Siskind, all of which Tom is very excited to come see.

As we talked with Tom, we noticed students from the Princeton Photo Workshop camp wandering through the market, learning the basics of shooting photographs. We met Barbara Cuneo, who founded Princeton Photo Workshop with her late husband fourteen years ago. They had traveled extensively, visiting museums all over the world, but once they found the Museum in their own backyard, Barbara fell in love with its beautiful collections and fantastic resources, regularly taking visitors when they came to town. Barbara also took her weekly summer camps to the old Museum. She likes to have her students look at paintings—as well as photographs, of course—as these works can serve as instructive guides on how to think about composing a scene and capturing light. Barbara fully plans to resume her visits, both personal and for work, to the Museum once the new building opens.