AFFILIATE MEMBERSHIPS
Enhance Your CMA Experience
The Columbia Museum of Art has
offered a variety of affiliate membership
opportunities for nearly 20 years. The
affiliates have broadened the audience at
the CMA, increased the diversity of our
membership base, and have provided
unique opportunities to engage with
the visual arts. The CMA currently
has three membership affiliates: The
Contemporaries, the Columbia Design
League and the Friends of African
American Art an Culture.
In 1994, the CMA officially introduced
the Contemporaries to attract and cultivate
young professionals in the community.
While young professionals had been a
big part of supporting the CMA and its
programmatic efforts for a long time, the
launch of the official membership affiliate
provided them the opportunity to recruit
an engaged and dynamic board, fundraise
to grow the collection and provide
educational programs for a young audience
looking to meet like-minded peers. Over
the past two decades, the Contemporaries
set the bar for other young professional
organizations in the community and
continue to surprise us with their unique
ideas and popular trend-setting parties.
Part of the Contemporaries’ mission is to
help grow the Museum collection. One
of their most important contributions to
the collection was the fundraising for and
the commissioning of the Dale Chihuly
chandelier, forever changing the Museum
atrium. More recently, they gave funds
toward the purchase of a major painting,
Girl in the Window, by the acclaimed
American artist George Tooker.
The Columbia Design League joined
the CMA in 2000 after their debut with
the Cultural Council of Richland and
Lexington Counties. By creating events
and programs that promote design as an
art form, the membership affiliate group
broadens our understanding of how good
design affects every facet of our lives.
The CDL quickly became a household
name when the group started an annual
fundriasing event called Runaway Runway,
now in its seventh year. The fashion show,
featuring designs assembled from recycled
materials, is a competition that brings
together talented designers who turn trash
into fashion treasures.
And finally, Friends of African American
Art and Culture (FAAAC) was formed
in 2011 to draw more attention to the
significant contributions by African
Americans to visual art and culture. Since
moving to Main Street in 1998, the CMA
has had more than 140 exhibitions and
programs devoted to celebrating works
by African-American artists. FAAAC will
help the Museum keep this continued
initiative at the forefront of all of our
efforts to diversify and expand our program
offerings. The FAAAC volunteer board
underwent a strategic planning period
this summer to reflect on their mission,
identify the signature events they will offer
in the future, and to build upon the great
successes they have enjoyed.
The CMA is grateful for the hard work,
dedication and volunteer service these
affiliate groups and their boards provide
for the people in our community and our
members.
To learn more about these affiliates,
visit columbiamuseum.org, email
[email protected] or call
803.343.2198. n
columbiamuseum.org
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