5 MUST-SEE UNIVERSITY MUSEUMS IN THE WORLD

Which museum is the first university museum in the world? University museums are the most innovative of the museum categories. They surprise, excite and constantly renew themselves. Because, depending on the institution they are in, they are always open to research, development and innovations. The environmental factors are their biggest factors: "the permanent circulation of students and researchers." So it means "curiosity". The fact that the sense of curiosity about every subject and everything can remain active even in the long run. Someone might ask why we turn back to university museums when there are so many museum categories out there... The main reason for this may be the history and importance of university museums, the importance of which we understand better day by day, as well as being researchers for a university museum project. We look forward to adding that museum to this list. Please check out Kimerly Rorschach's article when she assumed the post of director of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in 2004. Her first job as a university museum director was to publish an article in which she discussed the historical relationship between museums and universities and where this relationship was headed. The title of her article: "Why do universities have museums?" We definitely recommend that you read the article. Today Duke is on Duke University's blog, here's the link: https://today.duke.edu/2004/11/rorschach_1104.html

We follow the university museums you will see below as both museologist and researcher. As you know, we follow the social media of museums just as much! We ask you to keep it updated, please! We've compiled a list of university museums, the best ones, so if you've been up close and haven't seen any, you can easily regret about it :)
Let's explore!

1. Princeton University Art Museum:
   
   
   The university museum is one of the university museums with the most magnificent collection in the world. In addition to the museum building, you can see the works of Maya Lin, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Sol Lewitt and Richard Serra on your right or left as you walk around the campus. The university did not limit its view of art only in the museum building and spread it to the whole land. Its activities and conversations that are active throughout the year are also worth attending!
   
   
   Maya Lin,The Princeton Line, 2018
   P.S. The main museum is closed for construction of their new museum, designed by the world-renowned Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye and his firm Adjaye Associates, in collaboration with executive architects Cooper Robertson and anticipated to open in late 2024. Can't wait to meet the new museum!
   Art@Bainbridge, the Art Museum’s gallery space on Nassau Street in downtown Princeton. Also, Art on Hulfish, their new gallery and activity space in downtown Princeton. The Museum Store is open daily at 56 Nassau Street in downtown Princeton, or shop online at PrincetonMuseumStore.org. You can visit online exhibitions, art-making classes, on-demand videos, art for families, and its ongoing calendar of upcoming live programs.
   
   Established in: 1882
   Affiliated institution: Princeton University
   Address: Princeton, New Jersey, NJ 08544, US
   Visit: https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/
   Instagram: @princetonu_artmuseum
   Photography: Princeton University Art Museum Facebook Page
   
   
2. University of Michigan Museum of Art:
   
   
   The UMMA, with 94,000 sq ft (8,700 m2), is one of the largest university art museums in the US. The museum reopened after a major $41.9 million expansion and renovation designed by Brad Cloepfil and Allied Works Architecture, which more than doubled the size of the museum in 2009. In 2009 when The UMMA expanded more than doubling its square footage through the addition of the Maxine and Stuart Frankel and Frankel Family Wing, along with its galleries, The UMMA's collection has also grown over the years and now totals more than 21,000 objects. It is among the universities that do not confine art to the building. While walking around the campus, you can see the works of many artists such as Beverly Pepper, Mark di Suvero, Erwin Binder and Charles Ginnever!
   
   Established in: 1946
   Affiliated institution: University of Michigan
   Address: 525 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, US
   Visit: https://umma.umich.edu/
   Instagram: @ummamuseum
   Photography: UMMA Facebook Page
   
   
3. Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology:
   
   
   When you say Ashmolean, the first thing that comes to mind for museologists is: "University Museum"! Because that's how it was taught from the very beginning. In fact, the tab where his story is told on the website of the Ashmolean Museum still contains the following statements: "... It opened as Britain’s first public museum, and the world’s first university museum, in 1683." But in fact, you should remember this university museum too: Kunstmuseum Basel. This is also mentioned in the article of Kimerly Rorschach, which we mentioned at the beginning. In that article, it was mentioned that the Ashmolean Museum is the second university museum. Along with that, we will also touch other aspects which are related to them. Ashmolean, which preserves and maintains its importance with its collection, structure and functioning in our times - and the future. Here its introduction:
   "The Ashmolean came into existence in 1682, when the wealthy antiquary Elias Ashmole gifted his collection to the University. It opened as Britain’s first public museum, and the world’s first university museum, in 1683. Though the collection has evolved considerably, the founding principle remains: that knowledge of humanity across cultures and across times is important to society."
   
   Established in: 1683
   Affiliated institution: University of Oxford
   Address: Beaumont St, Oxford OX1 2PH, UK
   Visit: https://www.ashmolean.org/
   Instagram: @ashmoleanmuseum
   Photography: Ashmolean Museum Facebook Page
   
   
4. Yale University Art Gallery:
   
   A university museum where we see the "Traveling Exhibitions" tab on a university museum website and we are quite happy about that! We have been following their events and online talks since the pandemic process. There is so much to say about the museum building and its collection! The Yale University Art Gallery is the oldest university art museum in the Western Hemisphere and included a major collection in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Its introduction: "The Yale University Art Gallery collects, preserves, studies, and presents art in all media, from all regions of the globe and across time. The museum’s exceptional collection numbering nearly 300,000 objects. It sustains and catalyzes all we do. Founded in 1832, the Gallery is the oldest university art museum in America. Today, it is a center for teaching, learning, and scholarship and is a preeminent cultural asset for Yale University, the wider academic community, and the public. The museum is open to all, free of charge, and is committed to engaging audiences through thoughtful, creative, and relevant exhibitions, programs, and publications."
   
   Established in: 1832
   Affiliated institution: Yale University
   Address: 1111 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510, US
   Visit: https://artgallery.yale.edu/
   Instagram: @yaleartgallery
   Photography: Yale University Art Museum Facebook Page
   
   
5. Kunstmuseum Basel: 
   
   
   When looking at information about the Ashmolean Museum, we see these statements: "It is also the world's second university museum, after the establishment of the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1661 by the University of Basel." So this is the world's first university museum? You are directed to the tab about the history of the Kunstmuseum Basel as a resource. That's interesting because we've always interpreted it based on the Ashmolean Museum. Now the situation is a quite different. Its introduction: "The Kunstmuseum Basel enjoys an international renown rivaled by few museums of its kind. Its world-famous collection, the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel or public art collection of Basel, encompasses more than 300,000 works and spans eight centuries, from the late Middle Ages to the present. Its historic nucleus, the Amerbach Cabinet, an ensemble of precious works of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century art, was acquired by the city in 1661, entrusted to the care of the university, and made accessible to the public; since that time, Basel has boasted the world’s oldest public collection of art." As museologists, it may be the museum we want to see the most!
   
   Established in: 1661
   Affiliated institution: The University of Basel
   Address: St. Alban-Graben 16, 4051 Basel, Schweiz, Switzerland
   Visit: https://kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/kunstmuseum-basel
   Instagram: @kunstmuseumbasel
   Photography: Kunstmuseum Basel Facebook Page
   
   Our series of "university museums" will continue, you may be next! We are members and subscribers of most university museums, but if we are not on your list, add us and let us know!
   E-mail: artandtownmag@gmail.com
   
   You can also check out our interview with François Mairesse about university museums-museology and more! https://www.artandtownmagazine.com/2021/12/une-interview-avec-francois-mairesse.html