Erica DiBenedetto

What I do at the Chazen: As one of the Chazen’s curators, I organize exhibitions and steward approximately 10,000 of the more than 25,000 objects in the museum’s collection. The part of the collection that I oversee includes painting, sculpture, decorative arts, ceramics, glass, and three-dimensional works in other kinds of mediums. My educational and professional training prior to the Chazen focused on modern and contemporary art in the United States, Europe, and Africa. I still actively work in those fields, but I am now also responsible for art made from ancient times to the present day from around the world. I am constantly learning.

When I started: April 2026

What I love about the Chazen: As a university museum, we can be a laboratory for ideas and experimentation serving both the UW community and the public. We are free to every visitor, which means you can come to the Chazen as often as you’d like, even if it’s just to spend time with a single artwork. I love that we are on a bus route, making it possible to get here by public transportation.

My alma mater: I went to Carnegie Mellon University for its Bachelor of Humanities and Arts program, and then to Williams College and Princeton University for graduate school.

My college major: I devised an interdisciplinary degree that combined courses in the history and theory of art, architecture, and design as well as in cultural anthropology and urban history. After such wide-ranging undergraduate studies, I decided to focus on art history for my master’s degree and doctorate.

First job: I worked at a restaurant on weekends and during summers throughout much of high school. I started by seating patrons and bussing tables and later became a server. I quickly figured out how to multitask, along with developing other skills that would be helpful later in my career.