April 2024

Queridos amigos de TMA,

I am very proud to report that our museum has once again been recognized for its leadership role and ongoing commitment to the advancement of community engagement through our collections and exhibitions.

Since 2019, Marianna Pegno, our Director of Engagement and Inclusion; Christine Brindza, our Senior Curator / Glasser Curator of Art of the American West; and a highly-regarded roster of museum professionals, have been exploring new approaches to ways in which museums can better connect visitors to the objects on view. Inviting divergent voices into the process of interpretive planning and exhibition curation, including those communities that have often been underrepresented, has been a focus of this important project.

This month, their jointly authored research has resulted in the publication Community-Based Curation: A Toolkit for Expanding Narratives and Changing Practices, which is available for download on our website. This project would not have been possible without the transformative funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

This unique Toolkit provides museum professionals with comprehensive, practical guidelines in addition to recommendations for engaging community members in curatorial practice and creating institutional infrastructure to support building capacity as a responsive institution.

The insights and lessons learned from this work will be on display in an upcoming exhibition and used to make further inroads in this important area of interpretive planning within the next few years thanks to a subsequent influx of significant support. Stay tuned for a major announcement to be released soon highlighting our newest foundation funder.

Once again, our museum’s mission to connect art to life through meaningful and engaging experiences that inspire discovery, spark creativity, and promote cultural understanding has been put into action thanks to the dedication of our exceptional staff.

Nora

Norah Diedrich
Jon y Linda Ender Director y CEO

 La misión de TMA es conectar el arte con la vida a través de experiencias significativas y atractivas que inspiren el descubrimiento, despierten la creatividad y promuevan la conexión cultural.