The University of Virginia Art Museum, formerly known as the Bayly Art Museum, has joined the 9 percent of national museums accredited by the American Association of Museums. The museum formally announced the accreditation at the end of last year.
Accreditation by the AAM is the highest honor a museum can receive. The process assures other museums and individuals that artwork loaned to the museum will be handled in a professional manner. Accreditation also makes it easier for a museum to secure traveling exhibitions.
"We're very delighted. It gives us visibility nationally that we didn't have before [and] it gives us much more capacity to borrow art. We feel it's very well deserved," said Shirley Menaker, associate provost for academic support and classroom management, who also oversees the museum.
The process leading to accreditation is lengthy and difficult. After application for accreditation, the museum must conduct a self-study profiling all of its operations. The AAM then conducts a year-long study of all museum operations including collections management, exhibitions, finance, staff and educational programs.
"The process on our part took over four years from the time we actually started this to the time it was done," Museum Director Jill Hartz said.
The final step to accreditation is an on-site review from two AAM representatives. The museum was reviewed by Andrea Norris, director of the Spencer Museum of Art in Kansas, and Grant Holcomb, director of the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY.
The representatives spent two days with University administrators, museum staff and volunteers. The pair interviewed all museum staff members and reviewed exhibition schedules and museum publications.
The museum's 16,000-square-foot facility accommodates roughly 35,000 visitors annually, including about 5,000 school-aged children. The museum accommodates roughly four large and eight small exhibits per year.
The museum currently is raising funds for a $30 million, 41,000-square-foot facility above Lambeth Field and along the Colonnade. Accreditation already is helping the museum meet its fundraising goals, Hartz said.
"Annual giving is up. People that have supported us in the past are supporting us at a higher level as a kind of recognition [of the accreditation]," she said.
The museum is located in the Thomas H. Bayly building on Rugby Road. The museum is open to the public free of charge Tuesday through Sunday, 1-5 p.m.
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