About the Museum

We hold ourselves to the highest standards of excellence in collections, exhibitions, programs, and visitor experience. Our work seeks to expand and challenge the traditional art historical canon by including multiple perspectives. We strive to create opportunities for transformative engagement with our collections through inspirational exhibitions, programs, and educational offerings. We aim to welcome all visitors with dignity and respect.

We promote perspectives that expand the stories we tell and engage diverse audiences in conversations that broaden the way we see ourselves, the world, and its possibilities. The Museum should be a place where people see themselves with dignity and each other with empathy, care, and respect. As a public, civic institution, we believe it is our mandate to contribute to the advancement of society with a commitment to true connectedness and diversity. Central to this belief is our commitment to exploring, understanding, and appreciating our differences, while acknowledging how structural inequities and systems of oppression impact our work.

We believe that the open and free exchange of ideas among people of diverse beliefs, cultures, and experiences stimulates new understandings, expands insights into our shared humanity, and promotes social generosity. We also recognize that differing views may sometimes be met with discomfort, dissent, and even conflict, and we embrace our public, civic role as an important conduit for open sharing and learning.

We celebrate the cultural vibrancy of our local communities and work to help build meaningful relationships that strengthen and deepen them. Believing that through innovation and action there is hope, we champion the powerful roles art and artists can play in our communities, both inside and outside the Museum’s walls. We endeavor to bring attention to and inspire action on issues of social justice through our programming and partnerships, amplifying the voices of those who have been historically marginalized, and hope to inspire action and impact.

We seek to create a work environment that values and fosters equity, accountability, innovation, teamwork, and excellence. We are committed to creating and cultivating a diverse community of talented, passionate people who are inspired to make the Museum an important hub of community activity and a great global destination, grow their professional skills, and work collaboratively with colleagues they admire and respect. We work to incorporate anti-oppressive and anti-racist practices into all facets of the Museum and to use our resources to further these goals, including the full engagement of our Board and staff.