The
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Arts has achieved accreditation by the
American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition afforded the nation's museums. Accreditation
signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public.
Alliance Accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its
commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for over 45 years, the Alliance's museum accreditation program is the field's primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability. It strengthens the museum profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and remain financially and ethically accountable in order to provide the best possible service to the public.
Museum Director
Patsy Phillips
(Cherokee) remarked:
"I'm so pleased that MoCNA has received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums. This recognition acknowledges the museum staff's dedication, commitment and high standards in all that we do. The rigorous process of examining our policies and procedures demonstrates our dedication to not only the Indigenous contemporary art field, but the museum world in general. Every member of the staff contributed to this accomplishment and I appreciate their hard work in achieving this goal."
Of the nation's estimated 33,000 museums, over 1070 are currently accredited. Less than 10% of museums nationwide have received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums.
Accreditation is a very rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum's operations. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. The Alliance's Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.
"Accredited museums are a community of institutions that have chosen to hold themselves publicly accountable to excellence," said Laura L. Lott, Alliance president and CEO. "Accreditation is clearly a significant achievement, of which both the institutions and the communities they serve can be extremely proud."
About the American Alliance of Museums
The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.
