About

The Art Bridges Cohort Program is committed to supporting multi-year exhibition partnerships among museums nationwide. The program builds on Art Bridges’ mission to expand access to American art across the United States and to empower museums to broaden traditional definitions of American art.

Originated in 2018, the Cohort Program (also known as the Art Bridges Initiative) has created seven museum cohorts led by institutions in Boston, Detroit, Fort Worth, Hartford, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. For each cohort, an organizing museum and its regional partners collaborate to create exhibitions that inspire and deepen engagement with local audiences.

Sharing collections and resources, the program’s dynamic partnerships will generate over eighty exhibitions that are content rich, include in-depth educational and interpretive materials, and are designed to meet a wide range of audience interests.

Additionally, presenting partners work with the Art Bridges Learning & Engagement team on programming to further deepen community engagement. The Cohort Program also fosters professional development exchanges between partners and across cohorts, facilitated by Art Bridges-supported staff at the organizing museums, including arts professionals of the Art Bridges Fellows Program.

Courtesy of Mattatuck Museum

Goals

• Expand access to outstanding works of American art among audiences across the United States
• Create opportunities to curate collaboratively using shared collections and resources
• Foster professional-development exchange among all participating institutions
• Form a nationwide network of institutions committed to presenting American art in innovative ways
• Broaden the relevance of museums in the 21st century by piloting meaningful exhibitions with specific communities in mind