Jacob’s Pillow Reveals Dr. Sarah Nguyễn As First-Ever Director of Archives

Jacob’s Pillow announced that Sarah Nguyễn will join the organization’s leadership team as the new Director of Archives at Jacob’s Pillow, effective immediately. This pivotal role within the Jacob’s Pillow Archives—one of the world’s most extensive and treasured repositories of dance history—will ensure that the Pillow’s past is in active conversation with its present and future by guiding its evolving preservation efforts. Nguyễn joins the Archives team previously led by Norton Owen, who will continue his connection as the Pillow’s first Historian and Founding Director of Preservation.

“I look forward to bringing my passion and experiences for interdisciplinary, experimental, and community participatory collaborations to the directorship of Jacob's Pillow's Archives and preservation initiatives,” Nguyễn said. “For 50 years, Norton Owen has developed and maintained an Archives of dance, culture, and society that has become foundational to American cultural heritage while reaching national and international audiences. During this moment in time, when trust in historical facts is declining, and the arts are being devalued, it is imperative that we preserve and make accessible embodied memories that represent and speak to diverse lived experiences.“

In her new role, Nguyễn will build on Owen’s legacy to facilitate and broaden access to the Pillow’s past and present for dance artists, scholars, curators, students, writers, staff, and the general public. This will include reviewing and establishing policies and practices for department priorities to align with Jacob’s Pillow values and mission to invite and welcome the full spectrum of dance aesthetics, cultures, and abilities that comprise the dance landscape. She will work with the Archives collections throughout their entire lifecycle, including appraisal, accessioning, processing, cataloging, and preservation, while also supporting the work of the Pillow’s curatorial team for live performance, exhibitions, public humanities, and digital content by identifying resources and facilitating access. Her team will be composed of longtime Archivist Patsy Gay, Digital Archivist Sumi Matsumoto, and Project Archivist Katelyn Sanchez, and she will work alongside Norton Owen to ensure an optimum degree of consistency.

“Sarah’s breadth of experience across the fields of research, education, performance, publishing, and technology make her a thrilling and multifaceted new leader to helm our hallowed Archives,” said Pamela Tatge, Executive and Artistic Director at Jacob’s Pillow. “She takes the baton from Norton Owen, who celebrated fifty years at the Pillow this year,  founded our Archives and evolved them into a  world-renowned collection and resource for people around the globe. We’re grateful that Norton will continue as Historian and Founding Director of Preservation. Sarah has the opportunity to build on all of this and her deep understanding of historical cultural legacies will expand and enrich the ongoing work of our Archives team to preserve and share the history of dance with the world.”

Prior to joining the Pillow, Nguyễn has served as a librarian for Luna Dance Institute, an archivist for Mark Morris Dance Group Archive Project, a Dance/USA Archiving and Preservation Fellow for AXIS Dance Company, and an Archivist and Programs Director for Dance Is Life. Through community-centered and feminist practices of care, Nguyễn investigates and builds archives through collective memories, ephemerality, and embodiment. She received a Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington’s Information School.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Sarah Nguyễn to the Pillow in order to help broaden and strengthen all of our efforts to sustain the Pillow’s legacy well into the future,” Owen said. “Bringing on someone with Sarah’s remarkable expertise and energy is an essential step in allowing me to pass along my knowledge methodically and meaningfully, and I look forward to continuing my work here for years to come.”  

About Sarah Nguyễn

Sarah Nguyễn (she/they) is an archivist and scholar originally from the North Bay in California. She brings experience in project management, research, and education for private, public, for-profit, and non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, New York City, Seattle, and Việt Nam. This spans sectors such as dance/performance, technology startups, publishing houses, galleries, libraries, archives, museums (GLAM), higher education, food/agriculture, and economic development. Previously, Sarah was a librarian for Luna Dance Institute, an archivist for Mark Morris Dance Group Archive Project, a Dance/USA Archiving and Preservation Fellow for AXIS Dance Company, and an Archivist and Programs Director for Dance Is Life. Through community-centered and feminist practices of care, she investigates and builds archives through collective memories, ephemerality, and embodiment. Sarah seeks to build upon historical cultural legacies to activate and uplift the preservation of intergenerational stories. They received a PhD and MLIS from the University of Washington’s Information School.