Contact Information
millero@arizona.edu
520.621.9505
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 served as interim director for 10 months, prior to her appointment.
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 has curated more than 35 exhibitions, many of which drew national attention. These included The Art of Food: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, which launched at UAMA in 2021 and went on to tour eight museums nationwide. Most recently, she brought the landmark exhibition Hank Willis Thomas: LOVERULES to Tucson—the largest survey of the acclaimed artist’s work ever presented in the Southwest.
Her leadership extended beyond curatorial excellence. She oversaw the return and celebrated restoration of Willem de Kooning’s Woman-Ochre, a painting stolen from UAMA in 1985, and championed conservation for key works of public art and the museum’s treasured Altarpiece of Ciudad Rodrigo. Olivia also contributed to the university through teaching, winning the Ted and Shirley Taubeneck Superior Teaching Award twice, and was recognized by Arizona Arts for her fundraising leadership.