Press Release

TUCSON, ARIZONA (January 2, 2018) – The Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block has
been awarded a grant of $25,000 by the Flinn Foundation to conduct research and develop
recommendations for integrating new technology into the museum’s programs.
The six-month Deeper Planning Grant award is part of the Flinn Foundation’s Initiative for
Financial and Creative Health. According to the foundation’s website, the initiative, started in
2013, is intended “to help Arizona’s largest arts and culture organizations strengthen their
‘Programmatic Core’ – the products, services, connections, experiments and approaches that
allow an institution to achieve its goals and carry out its mission at the highest level. The
Initiative provides technical assistance and uses data from the Arizona Cultural Data Project to
identify priority capitalization needs and design strategies to impact those needs.”
“This initiative will provide the Tucson Museum of Art the opportunity to formulate a
framework for technological platforms intended to enhance visitor engagement,” said TMA CEO
Jeremy Mikolajczak. “It will also guide the museum through data collection to learn about
effective technologies and research new models for the advancement of arts education in a digital
age.”
The grant proposal will have the greatest impact on TMALearn!, the museum’s education
department, through the realization of incorporating applicable technology into its programs for
reaching current audiences and future ones. TMALearn! plans to explore technology trends and
practical applications that will integrate seamlessly into the museum’s offerings.
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By researching best practices and utilizing new technology, the museum will further its mission
of “Connecting Art to Life,” creating an environment focused on the changing needs and
behaviors of audiences within an informed and engaged community.
The outcome of the grant will be to conduct research, compile technology recommendations, and
to develop a campus-wide implementation plan and timeline for technology including wi-fi
accessibility and simplification of data collection with tools to develop methods to improve
revenue streams.