Crystal Bridges Museum Of American Art Inc

In 2024, CBMAA welcomed 704,257 guests and presented several collection focus shows, and three major exhibitions, including: Exquisite Creatures, Space Makers: Indigenous Expression and a New American Art, Time Loop by Klip Collective: A Forest Light Experience, Knowing the West: Visual Legacies of the American West, and American Sunrise: Indigenous Art at Crystal Bridges. Exquisite Creatures was an exhibition by artist and naturalist Christopher Marley that explored the connection between art, nature, and science. Through three-dimensional works made of animal, mineral, and plant specimens arranged in precise geometric patterns, Marley revealed the beauty and diversity of the natural world while inspiring wonder and a desire for preservation. Space Makers: Indigenous Expression and a New American Art examined the mid-century Indian Space Painters, the Indigenous visual culture that inspired them, and modern Native artists who built on these explorations through their own heritage. The exhibition reconfigured the history of American art by showing its foundations in Indigenous space, aesthetically, geographically, and socio-politically. The exhibition toured to one additional museum. Time Loop by Klip Collective: A Forest Light Experience transformed CBMAA's North Forest into an immersive journey through light, sound, and projection mapping by Klip Collective. Featuring six site-responsive installations, the experience brought the rhythms of the Earth to life, fractured visitors across a broken time machine, and illuminated the forest in dazzling ways. Knowing the West: Visual Legacies of the American West was the first major traveling exhibition to explore how people see the American West, aiming to tell a more inclusive story that highlights the diverse groups who shaped its art and life. Moving beyond stereotypes, it showcased overlooked perspectives, including those of Native American artists and women, revealing stories of persistence, innovation, adaptability, and resistance that continue to define the West. The exhibition is currently on tour at two additional museums. American Sunrise: Indigenous Art at Crystal Bridges showcased the beauty and intricacy of the museum's growing Indigenous art collection, including new acquisitions. Organized around the themes of Indigenous Futurism, Place, and Kinship, the exhibition celebrated connections to the land, intergenerational expression, and resilience across communities. Inspired by Joy Harjo's 2019 poetry collection American Sunrise, it featured basketry, beadwork, paintings, photography, and pottery by more than 30 artists from the United States and Canada, spanning 150 years of creativity.

In 2024, CBMAA was able to fulfill its mission of providing access to the arts through a variety of educational programs to the public, which reached 312,608 participants. Classes and Workshops are offered for all ages and varying skill levels, and include a variety of workshops in media such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, and multimedia, in addition to nature topics. Attendance = 2,491 Drop-In programs are non-ticketed and planned primarily for multigenerational audiences. These include large-scale events Trick Art Treat as well as drop-in artmaking on the weekends and school break programming. Attendance = 92,453 Film, Performance & Evening events are primarily targeted toward college and adult audiences, and include multidisciplinary arts such as music, theatre, dance, and film. Attendance = 5,209 Lectures and Talks include gallery conversations, nature talks, panel discussions, and exhibition lectures. Attendance = 5,844 Our School Visit program serves K-12 and college students, onsite and online, and aligns with curriculum. Attendance = 65,945 Teacher Professional Development programs offer continuing education credits through a variety of offerings, including Saturday Sessions, Summer Institutes and Evening for Educators. Attendance = 5,903 Access and Inclusive programs primarily serve individuals with disabilities as well as seniors. Examples include Family Access Night and programming for older adults. Attendance = 1,258 Tours include daily offerings of guided tours featuring the museum's collection and architecture, as well as tours provided for youth organizations. Guide training is provided for these offerings monthly. Attendance = 18,676 Community Engagement offerings in 2024 included community art-making activations with the Mobile Art Lab at festivals and libraries as well as co-hosting programs at the museum with community organizations. Attendance = 86,060 A variety of kits were distributed to community members and partner organizations. Kits included Community Creative care packages, Family Art kits, Food kits, and My Museum Classroom kits. Attendance = 30,000 School Partnership Programs entailed an in-person or virtual weeklong residency including art-kits for program participants. Attendance = 1,535

Library program