What Art Helps Us See: The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers

The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers gives students, faculty, staff, and visitors opportunities to encounter new ideas, learn through art, and experience perspectives beyond their own. This season brings new exhibitions, programming, and a public conversation on September 17.

Photo: McKay Imaging Photography

A work of art can challenge an assumption, introduce us to someone else’s experience, or help us see something familiar from a different point of view.

That is part of what I value about the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University. Located on the College Avenue Campus at Rutgers–New Brunswick, the museum gives our university community and visitors a place to encounter new ideas, ask questions, and experience the world through perspectives beyond their own.

The Zimmerli offers something for everyone—from exhibitions and collections to programs that connect art with teaching and learning. Its galleries provide students with opportunities to engage directly with works of art, while faculty use the museum as an extension of the classroom.

A Place for Learning

The Zimmerli is a teaching museum that integrates its collections and exhibitions into the educational experience at Rutgers.

Faculty bring classes to the museum for conversations connected to their courses. Students gain practical experience through internships, assistantships, employment, and opportunities to lead tours and contribute to museum programming.

These experiences ask students to look closely, consider context, and listen to how others may see the same artwork differently. That kind of learning carries well beyond the museum.

Something New to See This Fall

The Zimmerli’s fall exhibitions offer many opportunities to explore new artists, ideas, and perspectives. They include Hank Willis Thomas: LOVERULES, the New Jersey Arts Annual, The Beast of Joy: Women Artists from Soviet Republics, and Japan In/Out of View.

The museum is also hosting a public conversation on September 17 with artist Hank Willis Thomas and collector Jordan D. Schnitzer at Kirkpatrick Chapel, followed by a reception at the museum. For those interested in learning more about the exhibitions and the Zimmerli’s programming, the September 17 conversation is one opportunity to experience what the museum has to offer.

Making Art More Accessible

I also appreciate the ways the Zimmerli works to make art and learning accessible to more people. Admission is free, exhibition materials are available in English and Spanish, and digital content is available in nearly 50 languages. These resources make it easier for visitors to explore the museum’s exhibitions and collections.

I am grateful to Zimmerli Director Maura Reilly and the museum’s entire team for creating experiences that invite us to slow down, look more closely, and learn from one another. I hope our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and neighbors will take the opportunity to visit the Zimmerli this fall and experience all that the museum has to offer throughout the year.

Francine Conway
Chancellor, Rutgers University–New Brunswick