Exhibits
Ongoing exhibits on view throughout Reunions weekend showcase Princeton history, artwork, and more.
Art@Bainbridge, 158 Nassau St.
“Robert Lugo / Orange and Black”
“Roberto Lugo / Orange and Black” features vases that draw on the shapes, techniques and decorative motifs of ancient Greek vases in order to tell personal and communal stories of contemporary social and political oppression. Shown alongside Lugo’s vases are a selection of ancient Greek vessels from the collections of the Princeton University Art Museum that inspired him, creating a temporal, visual and social juxtaposition between the ancient and contemporary vessels. Ultimately, the exhibition encourages consideration of Lugo’s place within the long history of ceramic production and use, as well as the crucial role the medium has played in facilitating storytelling, societal interaction and humankind’s everyday lived experience.
Open Monday-Saturday, 11:00 AM-6:00 PM, Sunday, 12:00 PM-5:00 PM.
CoLab, Lewis Center for the Arts
“Mañana Never Comes: Alumni Artists Contemplate the Passing of Time”
Featuring Martha Russo ’85, Mark Sheinkman ’85, Kalliopi Monoyios ’00 and Jon Levy-Warren ’05. This exhibit ties together the work of four alumni artists celebrating milestone reunions in a meditation on time. It explores how we can make sense of the passing of time despite being perpetually locked in the present moment. “Live it up, mañana never comes.” —Betye Saar. Generously sponsored by the Classes of 2000 and 1985 with support from the Lewis Center for the Arts.
Open Tuesday-Sunday, 8:00 AM-10:00 PM.
Cotsen Children’s Library
“Be Happy: The Work of Barbara Valenza”
Kindness, positivity, imagination, hope and happiness run through Barbara Valenza’s works like golden threads on a beautiful tapestry. In her illustrations and words, Valenza shared her artistic soul while also encouraging readers to embrace and express their own creativity. Central to her stories are personal connections — families to be celebrated, friends to be discovered and feelings to be shared. Valenza (1961-2024) served as the inaugural director of library communications at Princeton University Library from 2017 to 2024. This exhibition, coordinated by family, friends and colleagues, is a loving tribute to her creative and giving spirit.
Open Thursday and Friday, 10:00 AM-3:00 PM.
Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery, Firestone Library
“The Most Formidable Weapon Against Errors: The Sid Lapidus ’59 Collection & the Age of Reason”
Between the 17th and 19th centuries, new conceptions of human liberty, political order and scientific reasoning emerged in the Anglo-American intellectual world. Sid Lapidus ’59 has devoted many years to building a collection of rare books that demonstrates the emergence of Enlightenment ideas and their influence on politics, medicine and society. The exhibition is curated by Steven A. Knowlton, librarian for history and African American studies.
Open Thursday and Friday, 10:00 AM-6:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 AM-6:00 PM. Tours available on Thursday, May 22, at 1:00 PM and Friday, May 23, at 12:30 PM.
Louis A. Simpson International Building, Industrial Relations Section
“Powering Up the U.S. Labor Force: Women in Industry During World War II (1940-1945)”
Helen Baker developed an unparalleled collection of industrial relations material at Princeton University Library. Baker joined the Industrial Relations Section in 1930 as the section’s first librarian and research assistant, and became the first woman to achieve the rank of associate professor at Princeton in 1948. Through this exhibition of select materials from the industrial relations collection and research by Helen Baker, we witness the intersection of opportunities for women — in the American economy and within the field of economics.
Open Thursday and Friday, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM.
Maclean House
“Princetoniana Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Association of Graduate Princeton Alumni (APGA)”
The Princetoniana Committee celebrates the seventy-fifth anniversary of the APGA. In 1945, three graduate alumni, Donald L. Stone 1914, E. Baldwin Smith 1915, and Lowell Thomas 1916, formed the “Princeton Graduate College Pioneers” to foster social connections among Graduate College alumni. Their efforts led to the founding of the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA) in 1949, broadening its focus to all graduate alumni and advancing graduate education at Princeton. Over time, APGA organized conferences, integrated programming with broader alumni events, and established key traditions like participation in the P-rade and the creation of the James Madison Medal. APGA has expanded its support for both alumni and current students through symposia, career networking, grants, and awards. It played a major role in celebrating the Graduate School’s Centennial in 2000. The display is a celebration of graduate student integration into Princeton’s most revered traditions.
The display in the Maclean House Library is open to the public on Thursday, 12:00-5:00 PM, and Friday, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM.
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
“Credit Line, Please: Photographs by Elizabeth Menzies”
The University Archives owe a great deal of our visual evidence of Princeton University in the mid-20th century to local photographer Elizabeth Menzies (1915-2003). Menzies contributed countless photographs of the Princeton campus to Princeton Alumni Weekly starting in 1936, until late into the 1960s. This exhibition of Menzies’ work, curated by Princeton University Library’s Phoebe Nobles, Emma Paradies and Rosalba Varallo Recchia, celebrates the shrewd composition of her photographs, an eye for architecture both traditional and modern, a dry sense of juxtaposition and an elegiac glance at sites of change.
Open Thursday and Friday, 9:00 AM-4:15 PM. Open house and pop-up exhibit on Friday, May 23, at 2:00 PM.
Tiger Tea Room, Firestone Library
“Living Forever: The Archive of ‘The Great Gatsby’ Exhibition”
Through large-scale reproductions, a variety of items that trace the creation, reception and impact of “The Great Gatsby” around the world are featured. This includes copies of the earliest surviving draft of the novel with edits by Maxwell Perkins, covers of the book from foreign editions and borrower cards from Sylvia Beach’s bookshop and lending library, Shakespeare and Co.
The cafe space is open during regular Firestone Library hours, including: Thursday, 8:00 AM-2:00 AM; Friday and Saturday, 8:00 AM-11:00 PM; Sunday, 8:00 AM-2:00 AM. Café service hours vary.