About Us

Family in art gallery

Our Mission

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art will collect, preserve and present American and related art to engage and educate broad and diverse audiences throughout the region to add value to their lives.

Our Values

Believing that art is a meaningful part of our lives, we value:

Inclusiveness

Dialogue

Education

Sound Stewardship

Our Vision

To be the best nationally accredited art museum of our size, while serving the broadest array of constituencies in our region.

Our History

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art, in its infancy, included informal art classes in drawing and painting, which were first taught in 1888 by J. Ottis Adams and later by William Forsyth. Both artists became important regional influences, whose skills in drawing and composition had been sharpened by tutelage at the Royal Academy in Munich. By 1897, these art classes were formally organized under the official name The Fort Wayne Art School. Over the next twenty years, the Art School continued to thrive despite limited funds and several changes in location.

In 1921, the museum function was added to the school when a collection of ten paintings was donated by Theodore Thieme. A prominent Fort Wayne citizen, Thieme recognized the importance of art to the community, and, in addition to the paintings, donated his residence at 1026 West Berry Street. In 1949, the B. Paul Mossman home at 1202 West Wayne Street was donated to the museum and, for the first time, an entire facility could be devoted completely to exhibitions and collections.

The museum split with the art school in 1977. The school became a department of Indiana University Purdue University at Fort Wayne, now Purdue Fort Wayne. The museum is now housed in a facility designed by architect Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in 1984.

FWMoA was first awarded accreditation by the American Association of Museums in 1996 and was accredited again in 2007. That same year, FWMoA launched a $7.5-million capital campaign to expand the building and grow the permanent collection. Completed in 2010, the project was and continues to prove its success, as FWMoA was transformed by adding 10,000 square feet to increase the number of exhibitions, programs and visitors to the Museum. The Museum is now able to implement its vision to be the cultural catalyst of the region.

Our Board of Trustees


Ryan Fox
Chair
Boston Scientific
Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist
Christine Swift
Vice Chair
Lincoln Financial Group
Attorney, VP - Litigation and Corporate Insurance
Seth Whicker
Treasurer
Sym Financial Advisors
Principal, Senior Financial Advisor
Nancy Stewart
Secretary
Community Volunteer
Randy Brown
Barnes & Thornburg
Attorney & Partner
Sharon Eisbart
Sharon Eisbart Corporate Art
President/Owner
Suzie Emley
Art League Representative
Community Volunteer
Melanie Gearhart
Sweetwater Sound, Inc.
VP of Sales Administration
Sea Grandon
Atelier
Director
Nishantha ‘Shan’ R. Gunawardena
City of Fort Wayne
Director of Public Works
Terra Hipp
Bloom at KW
Owner, Associate Broker
Jeff Juarez
Fairway Rentals LLC
Owner
Jill Kinder
Kinder and Sons
Business Development
Tina Koenemann
Brand Innovative Group
Rachel Loechner
Gilded Owl Design, Interior Design
Owner and Operator
Colin Madden
Purdue University Fort Wayne
Associate Director of Design
Mary Moore
3Rivers Federal Credit Union
Projects Process Manager
Pat Pasterick
Design Collaborative
CEO & Architect
Steve Piekarski
ProFed Federal Credit Union
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Office
Jeff Radke
Sweetwater Sound, Inc.
Executive VP of Sales and Chief Sales Officer
Shelly Rhoades
UBS Financial Services Inc
Senior Registered Client Service Associate - Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional
Josh Riikonen
FWCS Appointee
FWCS
Janet Greenlee Roe
111 Design
Founder and President
Matt Schiebel
FWCS Appointee
FWCS
Family and Community Engagement Center
Jason Wagner
Kreative Framing
Owner
Karla Zepeda-Wenger
Purdue Fort Wayne
Associate Professor of Spanish

Our Staff


Charles A. Shepard III
President & CEO
Amanda Shepard
Vice President & COO
Ashley Stoneburner
Vice President & CDO
Colleen Huddleson
Vice President & CPO
Jamie Jentgen
Director of Development Services
Alyssa Dumire
Director of Education, ADA Coordinator
Amy Schreiber
Director of Executive Initiatives
Scott Tarr
Director of Facilities
Lena Balger
Director of Finance
Kaitlin Binkley
Director of Visual Communications
Abby Leon
Paradigm Gallery Director
Brian Williamson
Technical Director
Jenna Gilley
Associate Curator of Exhibitions
Suzanne Slick
Collection Information Specialist
Katy Thompson
Associate Director of Education
Leah Reeder
Registrar
Emily Uphoff
Events Coordinator
Naomi Vanderleest
Education Assistant
Lauren Wolfer
Associate Curator of Special Collections and Archives
Sachi Yanari-Rizzo
Curator of Prints and Drawings
Josef Zimmerman
Curator of Contemporary Art
Michelle Cano
Maintenance Assistant
Michele Andrews
Security
Mia Herber
Security
Hannah Kirk
Security
Emma Magsamen
Security
Valerie Michel
Security
Larry Ramey
Security
Matt Troyer
Security
Sharm Gunawardena
Paradigm Gallery Associate
Isabel Kern
Paradigm Gallery Associate
Susan Martin
Paradigm Gallery Associate

Thank You To Our Affiliates and Donor Partners

American Alliance of Museums logo
Arts United Logo
Indiana Arts Commission Logo
Foellinger Foundation logo
Lincoln logo
American Alliance of Museums logo
Indiana Arts Commission Logo
Lincoln logo
Arts United Logo
Foellinger Foundation logo