Mission

The Monterey Museum of Art cultivates curiosity in the visual arts and engages community with the diversity of California art – past, present, and future.

The Big Idea

The Monterey Museum of Art is dedicated to expanding arts access, focused on underserved youth populations in Salinas and South County. Recognizing that 85% of Monterey County's Schools fall under Title 1 status, we acknowledge that these schools have the least engagement with MMA due to distance and lack of funding for travel. To address this disparity, we have developed a community-wide youth initiative that includes school visits with free bus transportation, a Mobile Museum, and Free Family Fun Days, all of which allow us to bring exhibitions and programming directly to communities at no cost to them. Monterey Museum of Art offers valuable art education resources by encouraging creative curiosity through hands-on art making and meaningful dialogue. We ask for your support to enrich the lives of countless individuals in our broader community, furthering our mission to celebrate the diversity of California art – past, present, and future.

In the past few years, the Monterey Museum of Art has opened their doors to thousands of MPUSD elementary, middle and high school students from Seaside, Marina and Monterey. The museum staff has tailor-made participatory experiences for diverse groups, including disabled students coming to the museum for their first time, and high school art students who are considering a career path in the field. The museum has brought their expertise to our schools during the school day and for our after-school academies. I am so grateful for their thoughtful partnership bringing a wealth of experience to our students. --Jaqui Hope, Visual & Performing Arts Coordinator, MPUSD

- Jaqui Hope