Freidenrich Director, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University
Art, Is It Worth It? What Makes Art Valuable?
Connie Wolf, Stanford ’81, became the John and Jill Freidenrich Director of the Cantor Arts Center on January 1, 2012. After graduating from Stanford, where her degree was in East Asian studies, she worked at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and then was a Senior Research Assistant at Harvard Project Zero. She was a Jacob Javitz Fellow in photography at the California Institute of the Arts and a Research Associate in school reform and Warren Weaver Fellow in the Rockefeller Foundation’s arts and humanities division. She went on to an appointment as Associate Director for Public Programs and Helena Rubinstein Curator of Education at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
In 1999, Wolf became director and CEO of San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum, where she established an exemplary record of drive and innovation. Under her leadership, a small community-based organization was elevated into a major institution with a new building, professional staff, and strong presence in a city of cultural richness. She oversaw the development and presentation of exhibitions that explored contemporary perspectives of Jewish culture, history, art, and ideas. Commissioning the work of artists was a constant feature throughout her exhibitions, and she greatly expanded the Museum’s focus on education.
Wolf arrives at Stanford at a transformative time for the arts on campus, as the university develops its new arts district with the Cantor Arts Center at its core.