The Board of Trustees of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures today announced the appointment of Jacqueline Stewart as the institution’s Director and President on July 6, 2022. One of the world’s leading scholars, curators, and public educators on cinema, she was appointed in 2020 as Chief Artistic and Programming Officer of the museum. She assumes her duties as Director and President on July 18 and will guide the vision of the Academy Museum and oversee all aspects of its operations.
She succeeds Bill Kramer, who was appointed CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last week.
Ted Sarandos, Chair of the Academy Museum’s Board of Trustees and Co-CEO of Netflix, said, “The Board warmly and unanimously agrees that Jacqueline Stewart is the ideal choice to lead the Academy Museum into the future. A strong and inspiring partner to Bill Kramer throughout the period leading up to our opening, she gave indispensable direction to the curatorial program that has been so widely admired. Her assumption of the role of Director and President is a testament to both the intellectual heft of the Academy Museum and its institutional strength.”
Bill Kramer said, “It has been a great privilege to work hand-in-hand with Jacqueline as we opened the Academy Museum. I am thrilled that we will continue to collaborate in our two new roles. I know the museum will thrive thanks to her rare combination of expertise, creativity, and proven leadership. Like movie fans everywhere, I am so thankful to have her guide the future of the Academy Museum.”
Jacqueline Stewart said, “Our ambition in opening the Academy Museum was to give Los Angeles and the world an unprecedented institution for understanding and appreciating the history and culture of cinema, in all its artistic glory and all its power to influence and reflect society. I feel deeply honored to have been chosen for this new role and look forward to working with our Board of Trustees, our COO and General Counsel Brendan Connell Jr., our wonderfully talented staff, and with Bill Kramer and the Academy, as we continue to advance our mission.”
As Chief Artistic and Programming Officer, Stewart has led strategy and planning for the Academy Museum’s curatorial, educational, and public programming initiatives, including exhibitions, screenings, symposia, publications, workshops, youth programs, and the Academy Museum Podcast. Honored in 2021 as a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, she was a 2019 senior fellow at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018. She holds an appointment as Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago, and previously served on the faculty of Northwestern University.
