Amistad Center for Art & Culture Approves Expansive Strategic Plan

After several months of research, analysis, and stakeholder engagement the Board of Trustees of the Amistad Center for Art and Culture, located in downtown Hartford, has developed and adopted a plan that will guide operations over the next three years.

The process has “resulted in clarity around our strengths and opportunities for improvement and our goals for the future,” Amistad officials point out, noting that “Some of the words in our mission and vision have changed but our commitment to the art and culture of people of African descent and to serving our community is unwavering.”

Priorities include:

Enhance Community Impact: Expand Community Access and Engagement: Enhance Education Programs; and Animate the Collection and Exhibits

Strengthen Internal Capacity: Attract Creative, Resourceful and Engaged Leadership; Increase Sustainable Revenue; and Enhance Technology Capabilities.

Among the objectives described in the plan:  develop plan to optimize digital platforms to engage audiences and create delightful user experiences; develop technology plan to enhance collection, exhibit and educational content access; develop a signature Black History Month event, develop an educational curriculum that brings the exhibits to life and fosters deeper understanding; develop strategy to engage with audiences outside of the museum; and expand cultural educational offerings to engage audiences of various ages as well as affinity groups and institutional partners.

Board President Tamara Williams and Interim Executive Director Matthew Greene Marshall explain that “with this plan we strive to achieve clarity of purpose and to create a roadmap for sustainable growth and enhanced impact that will benefit the community for years to come.”

Founded in 1987, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture is a “museum within a museum” housed in the Wadsworth Museum of Art.  Their multidisciplinary collection of more than 7,000 owrks of fine art, photography, historical artifacts, memorabilia, and rare books documents the African American experience from the earliest era of enslavement to contemporary creative achievements, officials point out. 

“We seek to inspire the next generation of artists, art enthusiasts and cultural visionaries,” the strategic plan notes.  “Our mission is to honor, preserve and celebrate in community the art and cultural contributions of all people of African descent.”