Museum History / MIssion / Board of Trustees

The Tampa Museum of Art is the proud culmination of three decades of cooperation among art organizations, private citizens, and government agencies in Tampa and Hillsborough County. The Museum celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2009.

Its mission/statement of purpose reflects a long-standing commitment to the community and citizenry it serves:

Museum Mission
The Tampa Museum of Art is dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of knowledge and appreciation of the fine arts through exhibition and educational programs encouraging the development of fine arts for the broadest possible audience. The Tampa Museum of Art’s primary purpose is to collect, preserve, display and interpret works of art reflecting art forms of regional, national, and international importance for the public on a regularly scheduled basis.

Prior to opening in 1979, the Tampa Bay Art Center (founded in 1923) and the Tampa Junior Museum (founded in 1958) served the community’s cultural needs. In 1964, the City of Tampa requested that the Arts Council of Tampa/Hillsborough County, in consultation with community arts organizations, develop a plan for a City art museum to be built with funding from a bond issue. The following year, the plan was approved and began to materialize under a newly created private/public partnership with the City of Tampa known as the Tampa Museum Federation. The Federation was the genesis of what is now the Tampa Museum of Art. 

In 1979, the new art museum opened in downtown Tampa on a riverfront site behind the convention center. In December 2007,the Museum relocated to an interim facility in West Tampa to prepare for construction of a new museum facility in downtown Tampa. Construction began in April 2008 and the new Museum will open on February 6, 2010. Demolition of the former museum building was completed in early 2008. 

The Tampa Museum of Art, Inc., a private IRS 501(c)(3) entity, owns the permanent collection. The City of Tampa owns the museum building and provides a grant for partial operational support. Through its Board of Trustees, the Museum is responsible for all operational policies and procedures, as well as for funding for the collection, exhibitions, education programs, and staffing.  In 1989, the Museum was accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and also was designated as a Major Cultural Institution by the State of Florida   It received re-accreditation from AAM in the spring of 2000. The Museum has been the recipient of major national and regional grants throughout its history.

2010 Museum Board of Trustees