COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Engaging the Community,
Enriching the State
by Karen Brosius, executive director
Think. Learn. Connect. Imagine. Need.
Our visitors frequently use these words
when we ask them why art museums
are important. My board, staff and I
are constantly motivated by the visitor’s
response to their experience here. One of
the many great comments about our recent
Hudson River School exhibition of grand
American paintings is an inspiring example:
“Breathtaking – emotional at times, I was
tearful at the sheer magnitude and beauty
of the artists’ renditions. My perspective
will forever be changed. Thank you.”
We know we impact individual visitors, but
wanted to also see the larger picture. We
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columbiamuseum.org
recently participated in a national mapping
project to examine our reach into our
community, city, state and region to show
our educational reach. The project re?ects
how we touch people in all of our efforts
on-site, off-site, through partnerships and
how people support our mission.
The maps illustrate a growing public
interest in the CMA and cover a larger
geographic area, in addition to the
capital city. It’s a snapshot of how active
and far-reaching our educational and
community relationships are with visitors
and groups around the state. We are more
than the “Columbia” Museum of Art and
serve communities throughout the state,
and to an extent, the region. The maps
include over 400 schools, community,
civic and service organizations, libraries,
senior groups, colleges/universities, faithbased groups, youth groups and cultural
organizations over the last three years.
We are inspired that the majority of
the partnerships on the maps re?ect
programming for children in our
community. Every summer, I hear the
voices and laughter of summer campers
on the plaza and inside the studios. The
campers are actively learning to think
creatively and sharpen their problemsolving skills using original works of art
while having fun. I heard one child ask if
he could come to the Museum every day.