Jason E. Shaiman
Education and Background
Jason E. Shaiman, Curator of Exhibitions, came to the Art Museum in August 2010 after working in several curatorial positions over 12 years at the University of South Carolina’s McKissick Museum. While attending graduate school for Art History at the University of South Carolina, Shaiman also received an advanced degree in Museum Studies. As curator, Shaiman selects, researches and writes content for artworks on display, and works closely with faculty and students on developing exhibitions and related programs.
Since coming to MUAM, Shaiman has curated and served as project manager for more than 60 exhibitions. By far, the Spring 2018 Telling A People’s Story: African-American Children’s Illustrated Literature is “the most important exhibition I have ever curated.” His favorite work in MUAM’s collection is Ferdinand Bol’s Portrait of a Woman, acquired through a 2017 gift.
Shaiman was born in NYC and raised in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia. He frequently visited museums in the City of Brotherly Love and in New York City, and cherishes the experience of seeing the original traveling exhibition of the Treasures of Tutankhamen in the late 1970s. He spent 5 weeks hosteling his way around Europe before graduating high school and studied Russian art during a 2-week trip to the famed Golden Ring for a graduate school course, further fueling his passion for art history.