INDIANAPOLIS, IND.- The Indianapolis Museum of Art has achieved reaccreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM)—the highest national recognition afforded the nation’s museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, governments, funders, outside agencies and the museum-going public. Museums belonging to AAM must undergo a reaccreditation review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status. The IMA was first accredited in 1972.

“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.”

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 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.

Of the nation’s estimated 35,000 museums, only about 1,000 are currently accredited.

“Accreditation is a very rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations”, said Dr. Charles L. Venable, the Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO at the IMA. “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. AAM’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. The IMA staff and Board worked very hard to make the process go smoothly, and we were honored to have Robert Goldsmith from The Frick Collection in New York and Patricia Grazzini from the Minneapolis Institute of Art on-site earlier this year to see all the IMA’s accomplishments for themselves. Their comments following their visit were most gratifying.”

In the site visit report and letter notifying the IMA of its reaccreditation, AAM representatives noted the progress that the IMA has made over the past decade, stating:

“Since its last accreditation review (2006) the Indianapolis Museum of Art has transformed into a world-class institution that enjoys a well-earned reputation as a leader among America’s large art institutions. We applaud the museum for the strategic and thoughtful move of reducing its reliance on its endowment draw, bringing it into better alignment with industry-wide standards. … The IMA is a remarkable institution. The museum, historic houses and structures, formal gardens and extensive nature park provide a breadth of offerings and experiences for visitors that is quite unique among encyclopedic fine arts museums. … The Board, the Director, and the Staff are deeply committed to the organizational mission and Dr. Venable has put in place a leadership team of admirable credentials and a deeply committed support staff who are working harmoniously to bring the institution into a new and distinctly different phase of its history.”