Ongoing exhibits on view throughout Reunions weekend showcase Princeton history, artwork, and more.
Denilson Baniwa: Under the Skin of History
In collaboration with Princeton Universityâs Brazil LAB and Department of Anthropology, the Princeton University Art Museum presents the work of Denilson Baniwa (Baniwa, born 1984, Amazonas, Brazil). Working in various media including drawing, painting, sculpture, and performance, Baniwa grapples with legacies of colonialism in the Americas and highlights Indigenous knowledge and resistance. His work addresses themes ranging from early Indigenous encounters with Europeans to ongoing environmental destruction and cultural erasure. Baniwa often draws on historical imagery from European sources in order to critique colonial fantasies while incorporating references to pop culture and technology that reflect contemporary Indigenous experience. The exhibition will include work that Baniwa made in response to objects that he examined in the collections of the Princeton University Art Museum and Princeton University Library Special Collections. Open Thursday, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Friday, 11:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Saturday, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
âDonât we touch each other just to prove we are still here?â: Photography and Touch
Touch forms the conceptual and sensory thread linking âDonât we touch each other just to prove we are still here?â: Photography and Touch. The exhibition, titled after a line from a poem by the Vietnamese American writer Ocean Vuong, features the work of thirteen international artists who explore the expressive possibilities of touch through photography, film, and video. From tender gestures between loved ones and charged encounters between strangers to haptic engagements with materials, the artworks foreground touch as a mode of communication, understanding, and connection. Some pieces embed touch directly through the artistâs imprint or manipulation, while others evoke it more metaphorically and symbolically. Together the works reveal the manifold meanings touch carries for us. After the disruption of physical contact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Photography and Touch offers different perspectives on how touch shapes us as social, vulnerable, feeling beings and is a timely meditation on what it reveals about our common humanity. Open Thursday and Friday, 10:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Sunday, 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Flight/Air/Fire: An Installation of Paper Pulp Banners by Daniel Heyman
Flight/Air/Fire is an installation of 30 paper pulp banners made by Lecturer in Visual Arts Daniel Heyman while in residence at the Awagami Paper Factory in Shikoku, Japan. Working in traditional techniques using dyed Japanese mulberry and gampi pulp, Heyman has created vibrantly colored paper banners in the form of traditional Japanese nobori, that, taken as a whole, allude to extreme climate and weather events as a flock of geese navigates a winter storm by the Rhode Island coast. The pulp paintings of Flight/Air/Fire are installed with their backs to the gallery entrance, and viewers are invited to walk through the installation to take the exhibition in as a whole. Open Thursday, 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m., Friday, 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
âThe Problem of Colored Lines. Student Debt and Racial Disparities.â
This exhibition from The Dignity and Debt Network (Sociology) and the VizE Lab (Anthropology) at Princeton visualizes social complexities within the urgent issue of student loan debt. The series adopts the style of charts and maps created by sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois that depicted wealth disparities between Black and White populations, and shows the wider webs of structures and issues that influence who takes on student debt, their ability to repay, and the effect on their self-concept. Created by Jeffrey Himpele, Director of the VizE Lab for Ethnographic Data Visualization,and Fred Wherry, Director of the Dignity and Debt Network. Open Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m., Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Saturday, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m., Sunday 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
âUlises CarriĂłn: Bookworks and Beyondâ
Ulises CarriĂłn Bogard was one of the most influential of all modern artists engaged in the book, and this exhibition is the largest United States retrospective exhibition of his work to date. Curated by Sal Hamerman, Metadata Librarian, and Javier Rivero Ramos *23, the exhibition will explore CarriĂłnâs pioneering reinvention of the book as a material and social platform, primarily featuring Princetonâs extensive holdings. PUL is steward to one of the most substantial collections of CarriĂłnâs book and mail art in any American library. Open Thursday and Friday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
âBlooming – A Fiber Arts Displayâ
The Women’s Employee Resource Group (WERG), in partnership with the Disability Alliance at Princeton and Latino Princetonians, are proud to sponsor ‘Blooming – A Fiber Arts Displayâ at Firestone Library East Plaza. The idea for Blooming grew from the understanding that the act of crafting, or making, can have positive mental health benefits. The installation takes place in May to honor Mental Health Awareness. Focusing on the theme of âgeometry and shapesâ, the installation will remain on display until June 2nd.
“150 Years of Asian and Asian American Students at Princeton”
The Asian American Alumni Association of Princeton (A4P) and the Princetoniana Committee invite you to Frist Campus Center to see a uniquely Princeton historical exhibit “150 Years of Asian and Asian American Students at Princeton” installed at the Frist Vitrine Display on the First Floor near the center staircase. Going back to the 1870s, this high-level summary includes the impact of geopolitics and U.S. law on the admission of students of Asian descent to Princeton as well as highlighting “firsts” and some notable alumni. The exhibit also celebrates the 45th Anniversary of A4P and AAPI Heritage Month. Open Thursday and Friday, 7:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m., Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m.
“The Princetoniana Pin Collection”
The Princetoniana Committee maintains a collection of lapel pins given to alumni during Reunions or Princeton affiliated activities. Pins have been gathered from associations, committees, sport teams, regions, eating clubs, and other Princeton groups in an effort to document each pinâs history. The collection will be expanded each year as pins are re-discovered.
The collection owes its origins to a 1970 class member who graciously passed down his 40th reunion pin to the initial curator. We further extend our heartfelt thanks to the alumni whose generous contributions have enriched the inventory. Your support helps preserve the legacy of Princeton and ensures that future generations can continue to cherish these symbols of pride and connection.
The current curator is Katie Panskyy â17. The full collection with descriptions can be found on the Princetoniana Virtual Museum. 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.
Note: The committee is actively seeking pins not documented currently in the digital collection.