PRINCETON, NJ.- A dynamic new look at the world-renowned Asian art collection at the Princeton University Art Museum has been made possible through a $150,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The two-year project, which began in 2016, is a part of the Museum’s ongoing Collections Discovery Initiative and was designed to ensure that Princeton’s Asian art collection – widely considered among the premier collections of Asian art in the United States – can be shared with the broadest possible audiences, especially with scholars and researchers.

The grant allowed the Museum to restructure its award-winning Asian art microsite into an in-depth sustainable resource with dynamic object information, 3D imagery and close-looking features. The project also enhanced and standardized the cataloguing of a percentage of its Asian art holdings. Over 1,500 works of art from the Asian collection have been contributed to the ARTstor digital library.

“Thanks to funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Princeton University Art Museum has at last been able to expand access to and promote the study of our collections, and particularly holdings as important as our Asian collection,” noted James Steward, Nancy A. Nasher–David J. Haemisegger, Class of 1976, director. “Making every object in our care more accessible to all is an essential Museum priority.”

“As centers of learning and catalysts of community change, libraries and museums connect people with programs, services, collections, information and new ideas in the arts, sciences and humanities. They serve as vital spaces where people can connect with each other,” said IMLS Director Dr. Kathryn K. Matthew. “IMLS is proud to support their work through our grant making as they inform and inspire all in their communities.”

The Princeton University Art Museum began collecting Asian art in the 1880s, and its Asian art holdings are renowned worldwide for their range, rarity and quality. Among the many highlights are Chinese paintings and calligraphy that rank among the finest outside Asia; Japanese Neolithic ceramics; and works from Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.

From 2010 to 2015 the Museum conducted a collections-wide inventory, through which it created digital images for every object in its collections. In 2015 the Museum launched its five-year Collections Discovery Initiative to create open access to the scholarly documentation of its collections through continued cataloguing, conversion of data from analog to digital, publishing of linked open data and the development of dynamic search and knowledge contribution tools.