麻豆影院

Following a rigorous, five-year process, the museum joins peer institutions with a recognition of its quality and credibility

The 麻豆影院 Art Museum recently joined an elite group of peer institutions when it received first-time accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums.

This distinction recognizes 鈥渁 museum鈥檚 quality and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies, and to the museum-going public,鈥� the American Alliance of Museums notes, adding that the accreditation program ensures the integrity and accessibility of museum collections, reinforces the educational and public service roles of museums and promotes good governance practices and ethical behavior.

鈥淭his is an important milestone,鈥� says听Sandra Q. Firmin, museum director. 鈥淚t increases our credibility as a trusted resource and partner on the CU campus and in the community and also among our peer institutions. It applauds the work we do to fuel imagination and collaboration through art.鈥�

Of the nation鈥檚 estimated 33,000听museums, more than 1,099 are听 accredited. The听CU听Art听Museum is one of 26听museums accredited in Colorado. 鈥淲e are thrilled to join this esteemed community of听museums in Colorado and nationwide,鈥� Firmin says.

Reflecting on purpose

The road to accreditation traversed a winding five years, extended by a global pandemic that saw the museum close from March 13, 2020, to Aug. 17, 2021. 鈥淲e knew the process was going to be rigorous, but that added a whole new dimension,鈥� says听Maggie Mazzullo, head registrar and collection manager. 鈥淚t really gave us an opportunity to reflect on our role and our identity.鈥�

The accreditation process began in 2018 with submitting key operational documents for evaluation, then completing a more in-depth self-study. The first prompt in the self-study was deceptively simple: 鈥淏riefly describe what stories and messages the museum wants to convey; and the museum鈥檚 interpretive philosophy, educational goals and target audiences.鈥�

鈥淭hat was a whole-museum effort,鈥� says听Hope Saska, chief curator and director of academic engagement. 鈥淚t was so much more than asking whether we鈥檙e good stewards of the collection, which is a great strength of this museum. It was looking at how we create learning opportunities and partnerships with faculty and students. Reviewers recognized our student-centered perspective and noted the excellence of students in our Museum Attendant Program.鈥澨�

In the self-study, museum staff noted, 鈥淲e are a collecting institution with artworks representing 10,000 years of human history. Because of the historical depth and geographic scope of the collection, the museum is able to mobilize the collection to relate a wide range of stories and messages. Our exhibitions are designed to contextualize our collection, make visible campus research through collaborative projects, and present new artistic productions.鈥�

Saska highlights as an example the recently opened听Lush: Prolific Nature听别虫丑颈产颈迟颈辞苍, which brings together artworks from the museum鈥檚 collection that focus on the natural world. Not only are different geographies and time periods represented in many different media, but several pieces are on display for the first time.听

One such piece is 鈥淰olc谩n鈥� by artist Fernanda Brunet, a fiberglass, wood and metal sculpture abundantly blooming with vibrant migaj贸n flowers made from a bread-based clay. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited to be displaying this for the first time,鈥� Saska says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking about so many things as we鈥檙e envisioning our exhibitions, and an important aspect of that is the idea that any faculty member can find an artwork here that relates to what they鈥檙e teaching in class, and any student can come here to see what they鈥檙e learning about.鈥�

In-depth peer evaluation

Another important aspect of the accreditation process is a multi-day, on-site evaluation completed by peer reviewers. These reviewers considered not only practical aspects of museum operations鈥攕uch as whether environmental conditions are appropriate for the collection and whether the interpretive materials are accurate, informed and professionally presented鈥攂ut also how well the museum encourages and facilitates community discourse and how it asserts its public service role.

In their final evaluation, the peer reviewers note that not only do museum staff take pride in the power of strategic planning to guide the museum to new heights, but also ground their work in student-centeredness and a commitment to the museum鈥檚 educational mission.听

The CU Art Museum 鈥渆mphasizes its learner-centeredness through its interdisciplinary teaching, using its strong and developing art collection to educate audiences about subjects well beyond the boundaries of art and art history,鈥� the peer reviewers observed. 鈥淎dditionally, students and faculty learn through collaborative label writing for exhibitions and object writing for the newsletter, as well as exhibitions that they curate with staff guidance (these include thesis work for art students).鈥�

Firmin adds that while the accreditation process was long and rigorous, achieving the distinction 鈥渋s validating and acknowledges the expertise of our staff and all the ways the museum supports education and our partners in the community. It recognizes the museum as a dynamic and growing institution.鈥澨�

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