Image: Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton
Princeton University Art Museum will open 'Joyce J. Scott: Declarations' at Art@Bainbridge on August 15, 2026, with the exhibition remaining on view through January 10, 2027 at Bainbridge House, 158 Nassau Street, Princeton. The museum presents the show as part of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, framing it as a celebration of the artist’s materially rich, multilayered and genre-defying practice and her commitment to free expression.
The exhibition spans the career of Baltimore artist Joyce J. Scott and focuses on a multimedia practice rooted in African American ancestry and global craft traditions. According to the museum, Scott’s work centers on intricate sculptural beadwork that she often combines with handblown glass, quilting and found objects. The presentation is described as highlighting the breadth of her artistic language rather than isolating a single medium or period.
The museum says Scott approaches charged themes including gun violence, misogyny and racial injustice with a mix of humor and horror. In the exhibition statement, the artist’s narratives are described as at once disturbing and personal, but also beautiful and universal. The show is positioned as a set of compelling and timely “declarations” that connect past and present.
Princeton also links the exhibition to the history of Bainbridge House itself. The museum says the project casts a powerful lens on the presence of slavery at Bainbridge House during the time of the American Revolution, bringing that history into conversation with Scott’s work. The house is being used as the venue for the Art@Bainbridge exhibition.
'Joyce J. Scott: Declarations' is curated by Laura M. Giles, the Heather and Paul G. Haaga Jr., Class of 1970, Curator of Prints and Drawings at Princeton University Art Museum. The museum notes that the exhibition is supported in part by the Kathleen C. Sherrerd Program Fund for American Art and by generous support from contributors to the Director’s Exhibition Fund.
A members preview is scheduled for August 15, 2026 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The museum’s exhibition page also lists Scott’s 'Fairy Tale', from the series 'Graphic Novel' (2019–20), among the illustrated works associated with the show.
