Evening Presentation
Drinks Reception 6:30pm
Presentation 7:00pm
Close 8:00pm

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology is the world’s oldest public museum. A celebrated treasure house at the heart of the University of Oxford, its collections range from 300,000 BC to the present day and span the globe. As the Museum celebrates the 400th birthday of Elias Ashmole, who founded the Museum in 1683, Ashmolean Director Dr. Alexander Sturgis will share the Museum’s plans for the future and the opportunities provided by the breadth of its collections to develop its contemporary programmes and address contemporary concerns. Dr. Sturgis will also talk about the Museum’s collection of modern and contemporary Chinese art, which is the foremost collection in the Western world.

Dr. Alexander Sturgis became the Director of the Ashmolean Museum in October 2014. He had a distinguished career as the director of the Holburne Museum, Bath, since 2005. Whilst at the Holburne, Dr. Sturgis oversaw a renovation of the Museum that included a £13 million extension. Prior to becoming the director of the Holburne Museum Dr. Sturgis worked at the National Gallery, London, for 15 years, in various posts including Exhibitions and Programmes Curator from 1999–2005. Dr. Sturgis is an alumnus of University College, Oxford and the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.