MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS OF ST PETERSBURG FLORIDA INC

1. Maintain excellence and integrity of stewardship of both works entrusted to our care and human capital to fulfill our mission.

2. Encourage artistic creativity and cultural diversity.

3. Provide art exhibitions and public programs that educate and engage all ages and demographics.

4. Support the community through partnerships and outreach activities for the general public as well as under served populations to provide accessibility and inclusiveness.

1. Steward people and art: Connect 3600 member households and more than 125,000 visitors to the Museum and each other through a variety of programs, activities and affinity groups. Regularly rotate works in the galleries for appropriate periods of exposure to light and environment to care for the art, as well as present a minimum of three special exhibitions that stimulate public interest in dynamic and ever-changing displays.

2. Promote creativity and diversity: Showcase regional artists in a variety of media in a dedicated gallery space a minimum of three times per year, collaborating with St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture and the Arts, Shine Mural Festival and other cultural advocacy organizations as the host venue for annual community-wide events.

3. Educate and engage broad demographics: Use trained docents to provide cultural context with tours free for any visitor. Bring scholars and guest speakers for gallery talks and presentations relative to current exhibitions. Offer study trips and field trips to artist studios, galleries and other arts institutions. Implement hands-on art activities for youth and families and programs for seniors 55+ with interactive performances on art and artists. Engage the community in art conservation and expand outreach through local colleges and universities. Partner with Pinellas County Schools as part of the sixth grade curriculum with free family passes for 5,000+ children and an art mobile for all 50,000 elementary students, and host an annual high school exhibition at the MFA.

4. Be accessible and inclusive: Assist sight- and hearing-impaired individuals with sensory aids for positive museum experiences. Offer reduced admission every Thursday and participate in ARTS ALIVE! free museum day in September waiving admission for 4,000+ visitors for economic accessibility. Address needs of at-risk children and teens through arts instruction with Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and work with Creative Clay and St. Vincent DePaul for disabled adults.

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, a distinction shared by fewer than 1,000 museums in the United States, the MFA houses an encyclopedic collection that spans 5,000 years of human history. The collection contains more than 20,000 items from around the world and spans antiquities to contemporary works by living artists.

The Museum employs two curators for Public Programs with one focused on youth and family and the other on adult to senior programs. They create recurring and one-off activities that relate to both the MFA collection and special exhibitions. The Museum also collaborates with other arts organizations and nonprofits, public schools, and community services in myriad ways to serve the broadest population possible.

Temporary exhibitions are changed both on the first floor and in an upstairs Works on Paper gallery an average of 3 times each per year. Some of these exhibitions are traveling shows and others are drawn directly from the MFA Collection. The reputation of the Museum, its collection, and staff expertise have allowed the MFA to both loan and receive from some the world's most prestigious arts institutions such as the National Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre, in addition to many private collections.

Think globally, support locally.
Speakers come from local universities and area artists give workshops, tour studios, present lectures and sell in the Museum Store. The MFA exhibits Florida illustrators, sculptors, photographers and painters, as well as works from local collectors, and hosts events such as TBBCA Impact Awards, Arts Alliance Muse, Shine Mural Festival Secret Walls and other public celebrations of art forms and artists.

Open minds.
Whether a student visiting for the first time on a tour or an adult seeing unfamiliar contemporary art, a visit to the MFA can inspire, intrigue, and invoke new perspectives. From sculpture dating back 4,500 years to work by Florida folk artist Mary Proctor, the MFA has something to resonate and explore for each visitor.

MFA serves the entire community.
Social, physical and emotional challenges should not limit access to art. MFA programs bring individuals together for shared experiences, whether a senior meeting others at Coffee Talk, an at risk teen in a difficult family situation using art for emotional expression, or a disabled adult in hands-on art as therapy with a partner organization.