Daniel H. Weiss: Whither Our Cultural Institutions?

Daniel H. Weiss, president and chief executive officer of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a scholar of art history and former president of Lafayette College and Haverford College. Weiss has been responsible for leading both universities and museums through times of crisis, during which their value has been subject to intense questioning. In this conversation with IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor David Nirenberg, Weiss surveys the state of culture and higher education in the world today. The discussion touches on the existential challenges facing encyclopedic museums in the U.S. and beyond, responding to critiques leveled at museums by the “Decolonize This Place” protests and tackling the thorny issue of provenance.

Wolfensohn Hall, Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 

March 23, 2023