Anderson Museum of Art (AMOA) thanks the community for its support during its annual Supporter Night celebration, held Sept. 29 in the museum’s historic Carnegie Library Building.
The celebratory evening included live music, hors d’oeuvres, and drinks provided by Cultured Urban Winery, a special guest presentation from Kaitlin Knapp, President of the Art Therapy Association of Indiana, Art Excellence Awards, a recap of the accomplishments of the past year at the museum, and an introduction to the adventures that await at AMOA as it elevates its offerings for the future.
Congratulations to this year’s Art Excellence Award Recipients:
- AMOA Friend, Matt Rust
- AMOA Volunteer, Sharon Wolfe
- AMOA Artist, Theresa Lucas
The celebration included a first glance at AMOA’s plans for the future, supported by its “Under One Roof” campaign. AMOA’s board of directors and staff have been working on the plan for the past year, leaning into the information gathered through its strategic planning process in 2021. The campaign, which includes the slogan “Art is an AMOAzing Adventure” is divided into three phases. Phase 1 is centered on the conservation and preservation of the building and consists of replacing the flat areas of the roof, exterior limestone restoration work, and plaster repair of the ceilings and moldings on the museum’s main floor. This work is necessary for continued operations and growth.
Photo provided
Supporter Night attendees also learned of AMOA’s three-year plan to re-invent its children’s programming, vital to the organization and the community. The plan focuses on whole-person health, empowering visitors to utilize their creativity to learn, grow, and become impactful adults.
“We are thrilled to share the organization’s plan for the future,” AMOA Executive Director Mandee Mikulski said. “After months of surveys, researching, visiting other museums to learn from leaders in the museum field, and brainstorming, we have built a plan to provide visitors with a place to learn through play, immerse themselves in the arts, and become more impactful adults. We hope the community will support this AMOAzing art adventure and all that it will bring to our community.”
The Under One Roof campaign includes many museum enhancements, new programming, partnership opportunities, and endless possibilities to increase the community’s footprint in the areas of child development, art education, and museum sciences.
The core of the re-invention plan is the Children’s Art Center. This addition to the museum provides an artistic space for students of all abilities to be empowered to utilize creative and therapeutic concepts for self-exploration, and expression, to build confidence, aptitude, comprehension, and whole-person health.
New transitioning exhibits, designed by artists, will be developed for children to learn through play, with art at the core of each design. The current plan includes the following zones:
- Visual Arts
- Dance/Theater
- Architecture and Design
- Music
- You Matter Circle: Focused on understanding others, empathy, compassion, and self-love.
The campaign has officially kicked off, and the adventure is underway. Thank you to the Anderson Arts League and Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing and Casino and Caesars Entertainment Inc’s Caesars Foundation for gifts of $10,000 to launch the fundraising efforts. AMOA also thanks the Madison County Community Foundation for supporting the planning phase of this campaign with funding support for the initial floorplan design.
To learn more about the project visit the museum’s website, andersonart.org/under-one-roof.