Partner
With Us
Art Bridges and Partners, NYC convening, 2020
Art Bridges partners receive funding and strategic support to create projects based on traveling exhibitions and collection loans.
Art Bridges funds collection placements, traveling exhibitions, multiyear cohort programs, Learning & Engagement projects, evaluation, internships, fellows, and more. As a catalyst for change, Art Bridges provides national leadership as well as financial and strategic support to museums and cultural organizations by collaborating on innovative ways of thinking and engaging new and existing audiences for positive social impact.
Art Bridges offers two types of partnerships:
1. Lending Partnerships
Lending partners are generally museums with large or focused collections that are:
- Interested in sharing their collections with broader audiences
- Excited to work collaboratively with other arts organizations
Lending partners work with Art Bridges to organize traveling exhibitions from their collections. Art Bridges does not support loan shows.
Art Bridges may provide support for:
- Single-collection exhibitions
- Consortium exhibitions
2. Borrowing Partnerships
Borrowing partners are small, medium, and large-sized museums across the country that are:
- Eager to engage their community with great American art
- Committed to innovation, experimentation, and multidisciplinary approaches
- Rural, urban, and suburban venues with acceptable facilities reports
Borrowing partners may borrow an approved traveling exhibition or works from the Art Bridges Collection.
Programming and evaluation support may be available for projects that involve an approved exhibition or collection loan.
Get Started
Begin a Partnership Conversation
Browse our traveling exhibitions. View the Art Bridges Collection. Read our partner stories to learn about successful projects.
We are eager to hear your ideas for engaging your audiences with American art, or for sharing your collection. Spend some time discussing internally how funding support from Art Bridges could help you and your museum increase access to American art.
Each project is evaluated and developed in conjunction with our staff. To start a conversation, please contact us!
Partner Loan Network
Learn More about Partner Loan Network
The Art Bridges Partner Loan Network is a new initiative to support long-term collection loan partnerships among U.S. museums of all sizes. A significant portion of art collections sit in storage. These collections include important works of art that are inaccessible to the public. While most museums would like to get art out of storage and on view, financial constraints and staff capacity impact their ability to lend artwork to other museums. The Art Bridges Partner Loan Network presents a new lending model that allows museums to circulate their collections.
Cohort Program
Learn More about Cohort Program
The Art Bridges Cohort Program is committed to supporting multiyear exhibition partnerships among museums nationwide. Originating in 2018, the Cohort Program has created eleven museum cohorts led by institutions in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Fort Worth, Hartford, Los Angeles, Memphis, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Portland, 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.
Art Bridges Collection Placements
Learn More about Art Bridges Collection Placements
Art Bridges demonstrates its commitment to access and inclusion by activating a dynamic and diverse collection of American art. Art Bridges Collection loans are available to museums committed to providing greater access for all communities. All our loans and partnerships begin with a conversation.
Traveling Exhibitions
Learn More about Traveling Exhibitions
Art Bridges partners with outstanding lending institutions of all sizes that have already organized or are in the process of organizing great exhibitions featuring American art but cannot currently tour them without additional support.
Collection Highlights
Learning & Engagement
Learn More about Learning & Engagement
Art Bridges collaborates with partners to connect new audiences with collection loans, traveling exhibitions, and cohort program projects. Art Bridges partner institutions with current collection placements or traveling exhibitions, as well as those that are part of the Art Bridges Cohort Program, are eligible to apply for Learning & Engagement support.
Evaluation
Art Bridges supports evaluation activities to promote the use of data for improvement and learning, and to help us better understand our impact.
Art Bridges Fellows Program
Learn More about Art Bridges Fellows Program
The Art Bridges Fellows Program is dedicated to creating diverse museum leadership with a national cohort of emerging arts professionals and mentors.
Internship Program
Learn More about Internship Program
At Art Bridges, we are thrilled to work with interns from Northwest Arkansas and all over the country each academic year and summer.
Bridge Ahead Initiative (Archive)
Learn More about Bridge Ahead Initiative (Archive)
Art Bridges launched the Bridge Ahead Initiative in May, 2020. This initiative committed nearly $6 million to help partner museums develop strategies to engage and connect with communities remotely while museums were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Projects We Love
See how our partners have activated traveling exhibitions and collection placements.
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