ROANOKE, Va. (March 11, 2022) – The Taubman Museum of Art was honored with the Virginia Association of Museums’ Innovation Award during VAM’s annual conference in Richmond Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
The Innovation Award was created to recognize museums that demonstrate a commitment to use their platform as a trusted source of information to build relationships with and create meaningful impact within their community, and begin conversations around important topics affecting the museum field and the world at large.
The award can be given in one of three categories: Diversity and Inclusion, Expanding Audience, and Community Engagement. The Taubman Museum of Art won for Community Engagement.
In this category, a museum must show that they are using their position of trust and knowledge within their community to engage with community groups and organizations on current issues and that the community has responded with that engagement in a substantive manner. Museums had to demonstrate that they are working actively with their community to open or further discussions that directly reflect the community’s needs. A successful nomination also had to reveal how the museum fosters not only greater community participation, but also how community members help direct and create the engagement the museum seeks.
“We’re honored to receive this recognition from our statewide museum peers,” said Cindy Petersen, executive director of the Taubman Museum of Art. “Our focus is always on meeting the community where they are with our outreach programming, gauging and addressing issues that are important to those living in southwest Virginia, and providing art as a means for people to discover, learn and grow. We have worked to reinvent community engagement through several key projects that were noted in the nomination: Healing Ceilings; Brush Pals; Learning Lab for Leaders; ARtreach; Happy HeARTs; and new virtual programming with the nation’s Historic Black Colleges and Universities. It’s a privilege to serve our community in this way. We can’t wait to see what we and our community can achieve together next.”
Nominations required a 3-minute or less video submitted by the nominee, which were reviewed by museum peers prior to and at the conference. The Taubman’s nomination video can be viewed online.
About the Virginia Association of Museums
The Virginia Association of Museums is the largest state museum service organization in the United States, with over 2,500 members. VAM focuses its efforts on professional and career development opportunities for museum professionals and advocacy at the state and national levels. VAM has taken the lead in providing Virginia’s museums with the tools necessary to face the challenges of the 21st century, and make constructive and adaptive changes to improve the stewardship of our historic and cultural heritage. It is a network of museum staff and volunteers who work together to promote professionalism in the museum field.
