# Heidi Zuckerman

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{{Short description|American museum director and curator}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Heidi Zuckerman
| image       =
| alt         =
| caption     =
| birth_name  = Heidi Ellen Zuckerman
| birth_date  = {{birth based on age as of date|29|1997|June|8}}
| birth_place = 
| education   = [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))<br />[CUNY Hunter College](/source/CUNY_Hunter_College) ([MA](/source/Master_of_Arts))
| occupation  = Museum director and curator
| employer    = [Orange County Museum of Art](/source/Orange_County_Museum_of_Art)
| known_for   =
| honors      =
}}
'''Heidi Zuckerman''' (born 1967 or 1968) is an American museum director and curator who is CEO and director of the [Orange County Museum of Art](/source/Orange_County_Museum_of_Art) in [Costa Mesa, California](/source/Costa_Mesa%2C_California).

Zuckerman was previously a curator for the [Jewish Museum](/source/Jewish_Museum_(Manhattan)) in New York and the [Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive](/source/Berkeley_Art_Museum_and_Pacific_Film_Archive) in California. From 2005 to 2019, she was director and chief curator of [Aspen Art Museum](/source/Aspen_Art_Museum) in Colorado, during which the museum opened a new building designed by [Shigeru Ban](/source/Shigeru_Ban) and shifted from exhibiting mainly local artists to international contemporary artists. She assumed her current position at the Orange County Museum of Art in 2021, managing the construction of its new building.

== Early life and education ==
Heidi Ellen Zuckerman was born in 1967 or 1968. Zuckerman's mother, Helen, lived in [Huntington](/source/Huntington%2C_New_York), New York, and her father Matthew was from [Palo Alto](/source/Palo_Alto%2C_California), California;<ref name="NYT 1997" /> she first lived in New York and grew up in Palo Alto.<ref name="OCBJ 2021">{{cite news |last1=Brennan |first1=Peter J. |title=New Museum Prepares for Center Stage |url=https://www.ocbj.com/news/weekly-news/new-museum-prepares-center-stage/ |access-date=December 11, 2022 |work=Orange County Business Journal |date=November 8, 2021}}</ref><ref name="LATimes 2021" /> Her interest in art started in her childhood. In an interview with ''Cultured'' magazine, she recalled that her grandmother would send extra artwork she collected to her parents, who were not interested in art, so she "grew up making up my own stories about the objects that we lived with."<ref name="culturedmag">{{cite news |title=Ahead of the New Orange County Museum of Art Opening, Director Heidi Zuckerman Shows ''Cultured'' What She Collects at Home |url=https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2022/09/30/heidi-zuckerman-art-collection |access-date=December 10, 2022 |work=Cultured |date=September 30, 2022}}</ref> She would visit art museums on trips to San Francisco.<ref name="OCBJ 2021" />

Zuckerman attended the [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania), where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in European history in 1989.<ref name="SF Examiner 1999">{{cite news |last1=Bonetti |first1=David |title=Art 'speaks' in Berkeley museum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108260915/art-speaks-in-berkeley-museum/ |access-date=August 25, 2022 |work=[San Francisco Examiner](/source/San_Francisco_Examiner) |date=August 27, 1999 |page=63 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref><ref name="Artforum">{{Cite magazine |date=January 14, 2021 |title=Orange County Museum of Art Names Heidi Zuckerman CEO and director |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/orange-county-museum-of-art-names-heidi-zuckerman-ceo-and-director-84907 |magazine=[Artforum](/source/Artforum)}}</ref> Her undergraduate thesis focused on the history of the [punk subculture](/source/punk_subculture) in the United Kingdom.<ref name="OCBJ 2021" /> She recalls she "fell in love" with art during her sophomore year, at a gallery show in Philadelphia, when she "became so immersed in what I was looking at that I forgot my current romantic challenges".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Senk |first1=Amy |title=''Take Five'': Meet Heidi Zuckerman, CEO and director of the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) |url=https://stunewsnewport.com/index.php/2-uncategorised/13621-take-five-meet-heidi-zuckerman-071522 |access-date=December 12, 2022 |work=Stu News Newport |issue=98 |volume=7 |date=December 9, 2022}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=December 2022}} After university, she studied for one year at the auction house [Christie's](/source/Christie's), in London, and then lived in New York and worked at an art gallery in [SoHo, Manhattan](/source/SoHo%2C_Manhattan).<ref name="culturedmag" />

== Curatorial work ==
For five years until 1999, Zuckerman was assistant curator of [20th-century art](/source/20th-century_art) at the [Jewish Museum](/source/Jewish_Museum_(Manhattan)) in New York,<ref name="Jweekly">{{cite news |title=Berkeley museum curator still in a N.Y. frame of mind |url=https://jweekly.com/1999/09/10/berkeley-museum-curator-still-in-a-n-y-frame-of-mind/ |access-date=January 3, 2022 |work=[Jweekly](/source/Jweekly) |date=September 10, 1999}}</ref> during which she created the museum's ''Contemporary Artists Projects'' series that showcased [commissioned artwork](/source/commission_(art)) in the museum and on its website.<ref name="SFGate">{{cite news |last1=Bonetti |first1=David |title=Jewish Museum curator joins UC-Berkeley's MATRIX |url=https://www.sfgate.com/style/article/Jewish-Museum-curator-joins-UC-Berkeley-s-MATRIX-3071388.php |access-date=January 3, 2022 |work=[San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle) |date=September 3, 1998}}</ref> A 1996 exhibition by Zuckerman at the museum examined [Louis Kahn](/source/Louis_Kahn)'s four designs for synagogues, of which only the [Temple Beth-El](/source/Temple_Beth_El_of_Northern_Westchester) in [Chappaqua](/source/Chappaqua%2C_New_York), New York, has been built. ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'' architecture critic [Paul Goldberger](/source/Paul_Goldberger) found the exhibition "full of heartbreak, for there is no way to walk through these galleries and not be filled with a sense of lost opportunity."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goldberger |first1=Paul |author-link=Paul Goldberger |title=A Spiritual Quest Realized But Not in Stone |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/13/arts/a-spiritual-quest-realized-but-not-in-stone.html |access-date=March 1, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=October 13, 1996}}</ref> She also worked as an independent curator during this time to remain affiliated with the downtown art scene of New York City.<ref name="SF Examiner 1999" /> Other work included an exhibition covering the art of [George Segal](/source/George_Segal_(artist)); an exhibition during [Hanukkah](/source/Hanukkah) that featured [light](/source/Light_sculpture) and [video sculpture](/source/video_sculpture)s; and an independently organized exhibition at Art&Idea, in Mexico City, that covered the use of the body of the artist in [video art](/source/video_art) since the 1970s.<ref name="Jweekly" /><ref name="SFGate" /> In 1997, she earned a Master of Arts in [art history](/source/art_history) from [CUNY Hunter College](/source/CUNY_Hunter_College), with a thesis on the artist's nude body in video.<ref name="SF Examiner 1999" /><ref name="Artforum" />

In 1998, Zuckerman was named a curator at the [Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive](/source/Berkeley_Art_Museum_and_Pacific_Film_Archive) (BAMPFA) in California.<ref name="SFGate" /> She was appointed by the museum to head its MATRIX program, founded in 1978 for the purpose of showcasing new works of artists as soon as they were created.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bonetti |first1=David |title=2 artists, 2 starkly different intentions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108262564/2-artists-2-starkly-different/ |access-date=August 25, 2022 |work=[San Francisco Examiner](/source/San_Francisco_Examiner) |date=October 22, 1999 |page=52 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> At BAMPFA for more than six years,<ref name="DenverPost">{{cite news |last1=Rinaldi |first1=Ray Mark |title=How Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson turned Aspen's art scene international |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2014/08/07/how-heidi-zuckerman-jacobson-turned-aspens-art-scene-international/ |access-date=January 1, 2022 |work=[The Denver Post](/source/The_Denver_Post) |date=August 7, 2014}}</ref> she organized more than forty solo exhibitions of contemporary artists. She was also a faculty member in the [California College of the Arts](/source/California_College_of_the_Arts)' master's degree program in curatorial practice.<ref name="AspenTimes 2005">{{cite news |title=Aspen Art Museum board announces new director |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/news/aspen-art-museum-board-announces-new-director/ |access-date=January 3, 2022 |work=[The Aspen Times](/source/The_Aspen_Times) |date=January 26, 2005}}</ref>

== Administrative positions ==
=== Aspen Art Museum (2005–2019) ===
[[File:Aspen Art Museum.jpg|thumb|Zuckerman was director of the [Aspen Art Museum](/source/Aspen_Art_Museum) from 2005 to 2019.]]
Zuckerman became director and chief curator of the [Aspen Art Museum](/source/Aspen_Art_Museum) of [Aspen, Colorado](/source/Aspen%2C_Colorado) in 2005, succeeding Dean Sobel.<ref name="AspenTimes 2005" /> In 2009, she became the second director of a Colorado museum to join the [Association of Art Museum Directors](/source/Association_of_Art_Museum_Directors).<ref>{{cite news |last1=MacMillian |first1=Kyle |title=Jacobson joins Association of Art Museum Directors |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2009/08/14/jacobson-joins-association-of-art-museum-directors/ |access-date=January 1, 2022 |work=[The Denver Post](/source/The_Denver_Post) |date=August 14, 2009}}</ref> Under Zuckerman's tenure, the museum experienced "unprecedented" growth in funding and attendance, as noted by ''[The Aspen Times](/source/The_Aspen_Times)'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Travers |first1=Andrew |title=Aspen Art Museum director departs with questions unanswered |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/entertainment/aspen-art-museum-director-departs-with-questions-unanswered/ |access-date=January 1, 2022 |work=[The Aspen Times](/source/The_Aspen_Times) |date=October 1, 2019}}</ref> and a shift of museum programming from local art to international contemporary art by artists such as [Yto Barrada](/source/Yto_Barrada), [Vik Muniz](/source/Vik_Muniz), [Ernesto Neto](/source/Ernesto_Neto), [Amy Sillman](/source/Amy_Sillman), and [Danh Võ](/source/Danh_V%C3%B5).<ref name="NYT 2014"/><ref name="ARTnews 2020">{{cite news |last1=Greenberger |first1=Alex |title=Aspen Art Museum Director Heidi Zuckerman on Leaving the Museum World: 'It's a Limited Scope' |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/heidi-zuckerman-hizart-platform-1202676540/ |access-date=January 1, 2022 |work=[ARTnews](/source/ARTnews) |date=January 29, 2020}}</ref> She oversaw the construction of the museum's new building designed by [Shigeru Ban](/source/Shigeru_Ban) and opened in 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Kellogg |first1=Craig |title=queen of the mountain |magazine=[Interior Design](/source/Interior_Design_(magazine)) |date=August 1, 2014 |volume=85 |issue=8 |pages=55–58 |issn=0020-5508 |id={{ProQuest|1634720143}} |quote=Preparing for the grand opening of Shigeru Ban's new Aspen Art Museum, CEO and director Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson curated an exhibition of Ban's cardboard buildings... [...] She also had the foresight to select Shigeru Ban Architects years before he was inducted into the ''Interior Design'' Hall of Fame or awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize.}}</ref><ref name="NYT 2014">{{Cite news |last=Cotter |first=Holland |author-link=Holland Cotter |date=September 26, 2014 |title=A Museum Is in Aspen, but Not of It |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/arts/design/a-museum-is-in-aspen-but-not-of-it.html}}</ref> The new building and the shift in programming reportedly drew "mixed local reception",<ref name="NYT 2014" /> as they conflicted with some Aspen residents who felt that the museum was out of touch with local interests.<ref name="NYT 2014" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Roger |title=New $45M Aspen Art Museum draws mixed reviews |url=https://www.cpr.org/news/story/new-45m-aspen-art-museum-draws-mixed-reviews/ |access-date=May 6, 2022 |publisher=[Colorado Public Radio](/source/Colorado_Public_Radio) |date=August 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202030451/https://www.cpr.org/news/story/new-45m-aspen-art-museum-draws-mixed-reviews/ |archive-date=February 2, 2015}}</ref> Ray Mark Rinaldi of ''[The Denver Post](/source/The_Denver_Post)'' wrote upon the opening that the museum's recent changes reflected "the identity crisis Aspen has suffered for years" as it had turned into "a ski getaway for movie stars and a vacation destination for outsiders".<ref name="DenverPost" />

Among other exhibitions at the museum, Zuckerman most recently organized exhibitions on [Cheryl Donegan](/source/Cheryl_Donegan) (2018), [Rashid Johnson](/source/Rashid_Johnson), and [John Armleder](/source/John_Armleder) (both 2019).<ref name="AspenTimes 2019">{{cite news |title=Aspen Art Museum CEO Heidi Zuckerman leaving after 14 years |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/news/heidi-zuckerman-leaving-aspen-art-museum-after-14-years/ |access-date=January 2, 2022 |work=[The Aspen Times](/source/The_Aspen_Times) |date=June 28, 2019}}</ref> She left her position at the museum in 2019, but said she would provide consulting services on four of the museum's exhibitions through May 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Robbie |first1=Erica |title=Aspen Art Museum CEO Heidi Zuckerman will consult with AAM through May |url=https://www.aspendailynews.com/arts_and_entertainment/aspen-art-museum-ceo-heidi-zuckerman-will-consult-with-aam-through-may/article_79b8c51e-a1f8-11e9-8803-c30c81919f8b.html |access-date=January 1, 2022 |work=[Aspen Daily News](/source/Aspen_Daily_News) |date=July 9, 2019}}</ref><ref name="ArtNewspaper">{{Cite news |last=Cheng |first=Scarlet |date=January 15, 2021 |title=Orange County Museum of Art names Heidi Zuckerman as director |work=[The Art Newspaper](/source/The_Art_Newspaper) |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/01/15/orange-county-museum-of-art-names-heidi-zuckerman-as-director}}</ref> After leaving the museum, she launched the website HiZ.art to serve as a platform for personal projects, including a podcast series and book series.<ref name="ARTnews 2020" /><ref name="ArtNewspaper" />

=== Orange County Museum of Art (2021–present) ===
[[File:OCMA Grand Opening 2022 01.jpg|thumb|The [Orange County Museum of Art](/source/Orange_County_Museum_of_Art) opened its new location in [Costa Mesa, California](/source/Costa_Mesa%2C_California), in 2022.]]
In 2021, Zuckerman became CEO and director of the [Orange County Museum of Art](/source/Orange_County_Museum_of_Art) in California, succeeding Todd Smith.<ref name="Artforum" /> She oversaw the construction of a $93 million building located at the [Segerstrom Center for the Arts](/source/Segerstrom_Center_for_the_Arts) in [Costa Mesa](/source/Costa_Mesa%2C_California), California; the museum had used a temporary location after its [Newport Beach](/source/Newport_Beach) building closed in 2018.<ref name="LATimes 2021">{{Cite news |last=Vankin |first=Deborah |date=June 14, 2021 |title=While you were in quarantine, a major new art museum rose in Orange County |work=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-06-14/orange-county-museum-art-costa-mesa-segerstrom}}</ref> In early 2022, the museum announced the selection of [Courtenay Finn](/source/Courtenay_Finn) as chief curator and Meagan Burger as director of learning and engagement, both former colleagues of Zuckerman from the Aspen Art Museum,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mosqueda |first1=Sarah |title=Orange County Museum of Art names chief curator for new museum |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2022-01-03/orange-county-museum-of-art-names-chief-curator-for-new-museum |access-date=December 10, 2022 |work=[Daily Pilot](/source/Daily_Pilot) |date=January 3, 2022}}</ref> and an acquisitions initiative aiming to acquire 60 works of art for the occasions of the museum's 60th anniversary and the opening of its new building.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vankin |first1=Deborah |title=Orange County Museum of Art launches acquisitions initiative |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-01-05/orange-county-museum-of-art-acquisitions-initiative |access-date=December 10, 2022 |work=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times) |date=January 5, 2022}}</ref>

The museum's new location was opened in October 2022, with admission announced to be free of charge for the first decade as a result of a donation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cardine |first1=Sara |title=Orange County Museum of Art celebrates 60 years with new site, decade of free admission |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/story/2022-10-01/orange-county-museum-of-art-celebrates-60-years-with-new-site-decade-of-free-admission |access-date=December 10, 2022 |work=[Daily Pilot](/source/Daily_Pilot) |date=October 1, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cardine |first1=Sara |title=Orange County Museum of Art opening draws more than 10K visitors in first 24 hours |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/story/2022-10-10/orange-county-museum-of-art-grand-opening-draws-more-than-10k-visitors-in-first-24-hours |access-date=December 10, 2022 |work=[Daily Pilot](/source/Daily_Pilot) |date=October 10, 2022}}</ref> Under her tenure, the museum acquired works by [Andrea Bowers](/source/Andrea_Bowers), [Joan Brown](/source/Joan_Brown), and [Derek Fordjour](/source/Derek_Fordjour), and held exhibitions on [Yves Saint Laurent](/source/Yves_Saint_Laurent_(designer)) and [Fred Eversley](/source/Fred_Eversley), among others. The museum's self reported statistics of more than 500,000 annual visitors, twelve times greater than those of the previous location.<ref name="ARTnews 2025">{{cite news |last1=Villa |first1=Angelica |title=Heidi Zuckerman to Step Down as CEO of Orange County Museum of Art in December |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/heidi-zuckerman-orange-county-museum-art-1234738950/ |access-date=May 17, 2025 |work=[ARTnews](/source/ARTnews) |date=April 17, 2025}}</ref> She is set to leave her position at the museum at the end of 2025 to work on her company, HZ Inc.<ref name="ARTnews 2025" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cardine |first1=Sara |title=Heidi Zuckerman to step down from Orange County Museum of Art's exec role |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/story/2025-04-17/orange-county-museum-of-art-ceo-heidi-zuckerman-to-step-down-from-exec-role |access-date=May 17, 2025 |work=[Daily Pilot](/source/Daily_Pilot) |date=April 18, 2025}}</ref>{{Update after|2025|12|reason=departure from museum}}

== Personal life ==
While living in New York, in 1997, Zuckerman married Christopher Jacobson, who worked as a builder.<ref name="NYT 1997">{{cite news |title=Heidi Zuckerman, C. W. Jacobson |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/08/style/heidi-zuckerman-c-w-jacobson.html |access-date=January 22, 2022 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=June 8, 1997}}</ref><ref name="Jweekly" /><ref name="AspenTimes 2005" /> Jacobson and Zuckerman opened an exhibition and performance space in New York City's [Lower East Side](/source/Lower_East_Side) named Correct CE.<ref name="Jweekly" /><ref name="AspenTimes 2005" /> The couple moved to Aspen, Colorado, and in 2012, Jacobson was elected a member of the [Snowmass Village](/source/Snowmass_Village) Town Council.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Osberger |first1=Madeleine |title=TOSV's Jacobson: Unbowed by sacred cows |url=https://aspenjournalism.org/councilman-jacobson-unbowed-by-sacred-cows-or-snowmass-town-elders/ |access-date=January 22, 2022 |publisher=Aspen Journalism |date=May 13, 2014}}</ref> They later divorced.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beathard |first1=Jill |title=Jacobson: It seemed awfully cozy |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/snowmass/jacobson-it-seemed-awfully-cozy/ |access-date=January 22, 2022 |work=[The Aspen Times](/source/The_Aspen_Times) |date=August 26, 2015}}</ref> She married again in 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Belcove |first1=Julie |title=Museum Director Heidi Zuckerman on Her Porsche 911, Where to Find Vintage Couture, and Aerial Yoga |url=https://robbreport.com/shelter/art-collectibles/heidi-zuckerman-the-answers-1236222545/ |access-date=May 17, 2025 |work=[Robb Report](/source/Robb_Report) |date=March 1, 2025}}</ref>

Zuckerman purchased a property in [Laguna Beach, California](/source/Laguna_Beach%2C_California), ahead of joining the Orange County Museum of Art in 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goldberg |first1=Morgan |title=Everything About This Laguna Beach Home Is Oriented Toward the Ocean |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/everything-about-this-laguna-beach-home-is-oriented-toward-the-ocean |access-date=May 5, 2023 |work=[Architectural Digest](/source/Architectural_Digest) |date=January 25, 2023}}</ref>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuckerman, Heidi}}
Category:Living people
Category:1960s births
Category:American art curators
Category:American women curators
Category:Directors of museums in the United States
Category:University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Category:Hunter College alumni
Category:American women museum directors
Category:21st-century American women

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Heidi Zuckerman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Zuckerman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Zuckerman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.