About Us
Mission
The Fort Wayne Museum of Art will collect, preserve, present and interpret American and related art to engage broad and diverse audiences throughout the community and region, and add value to their lives.
Philosophy
The visual arts represent myriad aspects of our collective cultures, historical experiences, and of the human condition. We believe that the visual arts open our eyes, hearts, and minds to the intersecting dimensions of the worlds we live in and, in doing so, add value and meaning to our lives. This added value and meaning develops from: the broadening of personal perspectives, promoting increased empathy, sparking moments of self-discovery, fostering the development of new insights, as well as nurturing our human spirit. We further believe that our Museum has a responsibility to extend the experience of the visual arts to everyone in the community and to all the communities within our region.
Welcome!
For over 85 years, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art has been a vibrant
and vital contributor to the cultural life of this region. The Museum is committed to presenting aesthetically significant exhibitions and educational programs that will attract the interest of – and which have meaning for – the many diverse audiences we serve.
Our core values rest in our belief that art is a meaningful part of all people’s lives and that inclusiveness, education, dialogue, and sound stewardship of our resources are elemental to our operating philosophy.
We are celebrating our second year in a newly expanded and renovated facility, a facility that was redesigned in 2010 to showcase more exhibitions and present more educational programming than ever before. By increasing square footage and reconfiguring existing space, the Museum now shows up to eight diverse exhibits at any time, when before only three exhibitions were possible. Twice the number of programs and lectures are possible because of two new lecture halls and a children’s hands-on learning center, and a complete makeover to the Museum Store has allowed us to develop a dynamic contemporary gallery featuring primarily handmade items from local artists.
All of these changes, updates, and new ideas mean we have become an anchor for culture in downtown Fort Wayne, a facet of our identity that bears a significant responsibility to the community. Not only do we believe it is our duty to present the visual arts in ways that reflect the demographics of our community, but we believe it is essential to the success of our organization to involve diverse constituencies as we make programming decisions.
We hope you will find aspects of your own lives reflected through the many
exhibits on display now at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Join us!
Charles A. Shepard III, Executive Director