SAN ANTONIO, TX.- The San Antonio Museum of Art announced that Emily Sano is retiring as Coates-Cowden-Brown Senior Advisor for Asian Art effective March 1, 2024. Following her departure, Sano will be appointed Senior Advisor for Asian Art, Emeritus.

Regarded as a star in her field, Sano joined SAMA in January 2016 after a distinguished career at several other museums. During her tenure at SAMA, she organized several important exhibitions, including Heaven and Hell: Salvation and Retribution in Pure Land Buddhism (2017), the first exhibition in the US to explore in detail one of the most popular forms of Buddhism throughout Asia. She also curated several focus exhibitions including The Magic of Clay and Fire: Japanese Contemporary Ceramics (2018); Harry Bertoia: Sculptor and Modernist Designer (2018); Creative Splendor: Japanese Bamboo Baskets from the Thoma Foundation (2022); and Samurai Spirit: Swords, Accessories, and Paintings (2024). She also served as guest curator for Ancient to Modern: Japanese Contemporary Ceramics and Their Sources (2015), From 2020–2022, Sano served as Co-Interim Director at SAMA, providing steady and experienced leadership through the challenges of the pandemic.

"Sano's impact on the San Antonio Museum of Art has been immeasurable," said Emily Ballew Neff, the Kelso Director at SAMA. "Her expertise, passion, and commitment to Asian art have enriched our institution and the broader cultural community. We extend our deepest gratitude for her years of dedicated service."

In addition to her extensive contributions to the field of Asian art through leadership roles and exhibition curation, Sano significantly enriched SAMA’s Japanese paintings collection with notable acquisitions, including a pair of Unkoku School cherry blossom screens and an unusual pair of Meiji period yūzen–dyed silk scrolls showing bathing arhats. She also facilitated the acquisition of a Standing Fudō Myō-ō sculpture, a pair of Japanese wood foxes, and a selection of outstanding contemporary Japanese ceramics.

Sano's illustrious career spans several decades, marked by significant achievements and contributions. Her journey in the museum field began in 1979 when she took her first post as Assistant Curator of Asian Art at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, following her role as a Lecturer in Asian Art at Vassar College.

Prior to coming to SAMA, Sano served as the Director of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, where she also held the positions of Deputy Director, Chief Curator, and Chief Administrative Officer. During her tenure, Sano played a pivotal role in overseeing the planning, design, and construction that led to the museum’s relocation from its original home at the M.H. de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park to its current Civic Center location. Before her time in San Francisco, Sano served as the Deputy Director and Chief Curator of Non-Western Art at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Sano's dedication to promoting the arts and culture of Japan was acknowledged in 2008 when she received the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Golden Rays with Neck Ribbon, from the Japanese government.

“It has been a privilege to work at the San Antonio Museum of Art with its with excellent collections and certainly the best Asian Art collection in Texas,” said Sano. “I was surprised to find an excellent museum in this city when I moved here, and I am grateful for the support of this diverse community in its endeavors.”

In addition to her museum leadership roles, Sano has been actively involved in various organizations, serving on the selection committee for the Luce Scholars Abroad program for the past eight years. As a former member of the board of the Japanese Art Society of America (JASA), Sano assumed the role of Chair of the exhibition committee dedicated to orchestrating a significant showcase of art from Japan's Meiji period (1868-1912). The exhibition, titled Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan, debuted at the Asia Society in New York in October 2023 and will open at the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago in March and at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston in July.