The issue…

Like their counterparts in the performing arts, museums are struggling to attract and sustain broad, diverse audiences. At the same time, they want to make the best use of their outstanding permanent collections. In their search for new ways of offering a more meaningful experience for traditional and new audiences, they see a need to change business practices.

The response…

From 1991 to 1999, The Wallace Foundation conducted the Museum Collections Accessibility Initiative to help museums find ways to attract and serve a diverse mix of visitors through a range of innovative programs tied to their permanent collections.

The strategies…

The Wallace Foundation granted $32 million to 29 art museums to help them create stronger links to their communities. With innovative programs affecting everyone from the board of directors to the security staff, participating museums:

• Developed partnerships with community organizations and local artists;
• Redesigned exhibits and developed new ways for visitors to connect with the museum's permanent collection;
• Implemented ways to market themselves more effectively; and
• Designed educational programs that invite the public to become more fully involved in the museums.
  

The accomplishments…

Museums reported increases in audience without compromise to artistic quality, as well as a change in the practices of staff who took ownership of their institution's new mission and visitor-centered culture. To illustrate the innovative ways museums reimagined and connected new audiences to their collections, the Foundation published three widely-cited and distributed monographs:

• Opening the Door to the Entire Community: How Museums are Using Permanent Collections to Engage Audiences [1998]
• Engaging the Entire Community: A New Role for Permanent Collections [1999]
• Service to People: Challenges and Rewards: How Museums Can Become More Visitor-Centered [2000]