Ensure that the DMA’s core values are instilled and embodied in all staff and volunteers, and that those values are the foundation of our actions
Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than two thousand museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families. We are proud to help connect military families with the resources available at the DMA. Special access programs
Friends program In January 2014, the Dallas Museum of Art announced that it had enrolled nearly fifty thousand visitors in its DMA Friends membership program since its launch on January 21, 2013. The nation’s first free museum membership program is available to anyone who wishes to join, and focuses on activating engagement with the Museum and building long-term relationships with visitors. The DMA’s emphasis on creating meaningful arts experiences in an open and welcoming environment has expanded its audience base, with 95.4% of Friends self-identifying as new members at the Museum.
The DMA is one of the leading museums in the country in providing special access programs to our visitors, including programs for people with vision impairment, for
Free online access
children with autism
A transformative grant made by Edith O’Donnell in
and their families,
November 2013 enables the Museum to commit to
and for visitors with
expanding free online access to the DMA’s entire
Alzheimer’s disease
collection to audiences worldwide. With this gift, the
and their caregivers.
DMA will become one of the world’s most open and
Amanda Blake, DMA
accessible museums. This opportunity reinforces our
Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences, describes
deep commitment to serve as an important educational
her experience working on Meaningful Moments, the
resource for our local and regional community, as well
program for visitors with Alzheimer’s disease and their
as for our growing online audiences all over the world.
care partners: “Viewing and talking about works of art can
The anonymous grant allowing us to photograph and
unearth past memories, especially those still accessible
digitize our entire collection of over twenty-two thousand
to a person with Alzheimer’s disease. I have witnessed
accessioned art objects will dramatically enhance our core
this many times during Meaningful Moments. From a
values of transparency, learning, and innovation.
Native American cradle sparking recollections about vacationing with young children, to an exhibition with a
Connecting with our community
beautiful wedding gown triggering detailed stories about
For the second year in a row, the DMA welcomed fifty
wedding days, or a print by Andy Warhol generating a lively
new American citizens from eighteen countries during a
discussion of life in the 1960s, artwork often serves as a
naturalization ceremony in April 2014. It was a moving and
catalyst to connect with stories from the past and with
unforgettable experience, and the Museum will continue
loved ones in the present.”
to work with the INS to weave ourselves into the fabric of
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our community. Following that important civic occasion,
At their core, all of these programs and offerings are
we announced the 2014 launch of Blue Star Museums, a
about opening the doors of our Museum and inviting our
collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts,
community to connect with us and each other.