Leading Art Bridges Foundation with CEO Anne Kraybill

Kraybill spent seven years at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, serving as director of education and research in learning, and as school programs and distance learning manager. (Provided)

Please describe the mission of the Art Bridges Foundation.

Art Bridges provides financial and strategic support to museums to get art out of storage and into communities through exhibition development, loans from the Art Bridges permanent collection, and programs to educate, inspire and deepen engagement with local audiences. We do this because we believe that art isn’t meaningful if there aren’t audiences to engage with the work. At the heart of what we do is build community in partnership with arts museums and cultural organizations.

Why is it important to increase access to American art?

Part of Art Bridges’ goal in expanding access to American art is to share a diversity of stories and artworks that comprise the American experience. Our country can feel incredibly divided right now, and art has the power to foster connections between individuals and their own historical heritage as well as the lived experiences of others. Art is also capable of reflecting nuance, allowing people to grapple with ideas that are complicate.

What challenges do you face doing that?

There are two main challenges. One is an awareness of Art Bridges and how the foundation can support art museums and cultural organizations no matter their size, location or budget. Many foundations operate on an invitation-only model, so we have some work to do in educating potential partner organizations of the various ways we can support them. The second issue is related to logistics and figuring out the most efficient ways to transport and then safely display artworks across the country. We are excited to host a meeting in April to explore these issues with our partners.

Please elaborate on the $40 million Access for All initiative to increase access to 64 museums across the nation.

This is three-year pilot program to increase access to art and foster engagement with local audiences by reducing barriers such as the cost of admission and eliminating the idea that folks don’t want to come to art museums because they “aren’t for people like me.” Access for All goes beyond free admission by collaborating with museums to create transformative, interdisciplinary and audience-building programming catering to their local communities.