Olivia Miller Director, University of Arizona Museum of Art
Curator of Exhibitions

Olivia Miller was appointed the director of the University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA) in May 2023, becoming the first woman to serve as the institution’s director.

Miller, a School of Art alumna (BA ’05, Art History and Studio Art), earned her master’s in art history from the University of Oregon. She joined the museum as Curator of Education in 2012, overseeing the docent and education programs before becoming Curator of Exhibitions in 2014. She has curated more than 30 exhibitions during her tenure, overseeing the restoration and return of the UAMA’s stolen Willem de Kooning painting, “Woman-Ochre.”

She served as interim director for 10 months, prior to her appointment.

Miller joined the museum in 2012, initially as Curator of Education, overseeing the docent and education programs before becoming Curator of Exhibitions in 2014.

Of the 30 exhibitions she has curated, 2021’s The Art of Food: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation had the highest attendance of any exhibition in the past decade. The exhibition is currently traveling to six venues through 2025, accompanied by a bilingual catalogue.

Miller presided over Restored: The Return of Woman-Ochre, which traces the incredible story of the Willem de Kooning painting stolen from the university in 1985, recovered in 2017, restored by the J. Paul Getty Museum, and returned to Tucson in 2022.