Fresno Art Museum

• Name — Fresno Art Museum • Former Names — Fresno Arts Center (until 1985) Fresno Arts Center and Museum (until 1988) • Location — 2233 N First St, Fresno, California, United States • Type — Art museum • Accreditation — American Association of Museums • Architect — David Horn • Website — http: www.fresnoartmuseum.org

"The Fresno Art Museum offers a dynamic experience for appreciating art. The Museum welcomes, inspires, and educates a diverse regional audience through significant exhibitions, thought-provoking programs, and meaningful interactions with artists and the creative process."

• Illustration — Fresno Art Museum Sculpture Park The museum traces its history back to the Fresno Art League, a group of local artists that was founded in 1948 and that gathered sufficient community support to incorporate as the Fresno Art Center in 1949. The group established a permanent space to occupy in 1956. With help from Fresno Mayor Gordon Dunn, a historic three-story dwelling called the W. R. Price home was moved to city owned property called "Radio Park" north of downtown Fresno. The city agreed to lease the land for $1 per year and maintains the building exterior and the grounds. The American Association of Museums granted the Art Center accreditation in 1973. The Museum has continued to maintain its accreditation, most recently being reaccredited in 2016. In 1985 the Board of Trustees changed the Center's name to Fresno Arts Center and Museum, and then again in 1988 to the Fresno Art Museum. Robert Barrett, the museum's director and curator from 1980 to 1994, was the driving force behind the museum's expansion, collection growth, establishment of an endowment fund, growth in adult education through a partnership with Fresno City College, and even attempted to raise the museum and tourism in an initiative called "Arts to Zoo". The museum held a successful $2 million funding drive to add a 14000 sqft outdoor gallery of sculptures. Construction began in June 2000.

• Illustration — Fresno Art Museum Interior The Fresno Art Museum became renowned for its exhibitions of Feminist Art going from an unknown "art center" to nationally known with an exhibit of the artist Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party. Judy Chicago brought Fresno's attention to women artists when she taught the first feminist art class in the country at California State University, Fresno.

In September 2012, the Fresno Unified School District became the tenth national test site for the John F. Kennedy Center's Any Given Child initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to provide a high quality arts education for students K-12 across an entire school district, city government, and local arts community, aided by the Kennedy Center. The Fresno County Office of Education is the governing organization of all schools in Fresno County and facilitates the implementation of this program through its Visual and Performing Arts department. The Fresno Art Museum and the Visual and Performing Arts department have formed a partnership to provide a direct visual arts experience to every third grade student in Fresno Unified. The pilot program was first implemented in spring of 2013, allowing 1,348 third graders to tour the Museum and participate in specially designed curriculum. The 2014-2015 school year saw 6,099 third grade students come through the Museum as part of the Any Given Child Program. Part of the programming the Any Given Child program is one exhibition that runs for the entire school year, specifically chosen and headed towards the Any Given Child curriculum. The tours include a classroom experience where each child creates an art project based on the theme of the Any Given Child exhibition. There is a reception held near the end of the school year for the students and their families at the Museum to showcase the chosen artworks.