Payne Gallery. Photo by Nick Chismar ’20
Former Penn State senior gallery director brings extensive curatorial experience, interdisciplinary vision, and artistic expertise to Moravian’s flagship art space.
BETHLEHEM, PA—August 18, 2026—Moravian University announced the appointment of Robert Sparrow Jones as the new director of the Payne Gallery. In his new role, Jones oversees the gallery’s dynamic schedule of exhibitions, permanent collections, and public educational programming, serving both the university community and the broader Lehigh Valley region.
An accomplished artist, curator, and writer, Jones comes to Moravian with a deep background in gallery leadership and interdisciplinary collaboration. He most recently served as senior gallery director at Penn State’s HUB-Robeson Galleries, where he curated exhibitions featuring both emerging and established artists while fostering meaningful dialogue across academic disciplines.
“Robert brings a rare combination of curatorial vision, administrative leadership, and personal creative mastery to the Payne Gallery,” said Lesley Brown, associate provost and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Moravian University. “His passion for storytelling through visual art, combined with his experience in higher education galleries, makes him the ideal leader to elevate Payne Gallery as a cultural hub for our students, faculty, and community.”
With the recent designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Moravian Church Settlements–Bethlehem, Jones will also collaborate with the Institute for Moravian History and World Heritage (IMHWH) to promote international understanding of Moravian culture and World Heritage collaboration.
The director will develop and maintain partnerships with other Moravian World Heritage sites to facilitate collaborative exhibitions, artist exchanges, and shared programming to showcase the universal value and global significance of Moravian heritage to national and international audiences. In addition, enhancing the prominence of the site’s World Heritage connections and collaborating with IMHWH on complementary programming and digital humanities initiatives will be critical.
”Robert’s arrival as the new director of the Payne Gallery comes at a very important time for Moravian University and the Moravian Church Settlements-Bethlehem World Heritage site,” said Katie Faull, executive director, Institute for Moravian History and World Heritage and World Heritage site manager for Moravian Church Settlements-Bethlehem. “This role requires vision and experience to create meaningful partnerships with other World Heritage sites, and I’m confident Robert will excel in the position.”
Earlier in his career, Jones served as a painting assistant to world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly in Seattle, an experience that deeply influenced his understanding of large-scale studio practice, creative iteration, and artistic collaboration.
As an artist and fiction writer, Jones’s own work explores memory, place, and the quiet psychological narratives embedded in everyday life. Working primarily in painting, he creates atmospheric interiors and landscapes designed to invite sustained contemplation. His curatorial and artistic practices share a core commitment to storytelling, encouraging viewers to engage with ambiguity and the emotional resonance of place.
Jones holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in painting from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. His fiction writing has also appeared on shortlists and in various literary publications.
To learn more about upcoming exhibitions and programming at the Payne Gallery, visit moravian.edu/paynegallery.
Media Contact
Michael Corr
Moravian University
Email: corrm@moravian.edu
Phone: 610.861.1365
About Moravian University
Moravian University, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is the nation’s sixth-oldest university and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificates. For more than 280 years, the university has been preparing students for reflective lives, fulfilling careers, and transformative leadership in a world of change. Moravian University is a member of The New American Colleges and Universities (NACU), a national consortium of private comprehensive colleges and universities working together to graduate extraordinary professionals for a global workforce and society.
In 2024, Moravian University became part of a World Heritage designation when Moravian Church Settlements — Bethlehem, Gracehill (Northern Ireland, UK), and Herrnhut (Saxony, Germany) joined Christiansfeld (Denmark) as a single World Heritage Site—Moravian Church Settlements. Moravian is just the second university in the United States to be part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation and only the eighth university in the world to have this recognition.
Visit moravian.edu to learn more about how Moravian University prepares its students for lifelong success.