Who We Are

Sun Valley Museum of Art: Providing Arts and Education for the Whole Community Statement on Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion

Sun Valley Museum of Art is actively working to serve our community through programs that reflect our commitment to diversity, our belief in the importance of equity, and our desire to be a place that is both accessible and inclusive. We seek to enrich our community through transformative arts and educational experiences with these values at the forefront of our programming and as filters for how we make decisions at the board and staff level. With the belief that the arts can transform the lives of individuals and communities, SVMoA enthusiastically takes on the work of implementing the values of DEAI at every level or the organization.

We recognize that we are at the beginning of a process that will be ongoing—one that will guide us as we shape a future that is welcoming to all. Our goal is that as SVMoA works to amplify a diversity of voices, those at every level of the organization—staff, board, audience, artist—feel valued for who they are as individuals and for the unique perspectives they bring to SVMoA.

As one of the leading arts organizations in the Wood River Valley and within the state of Idaho, SVMoA embraces the work of implementing the values of DEAI with the knowledge that we serve a largely rural state, and that we are located far from the nearest urban center. We exist in a county in which more than 30% of the population identifies as Hispanic/Latinx, a county with both Idaho’s highest per capita income and the state’s greatest economic inequality. We acknowledge that we live and work on the homelands of the Shoshone and Bannock peoples, and their use of these lands, past, present and future.

We undertake our path toward an SVMoA that reflects our commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion through the following steps:

• Remaining self-reflective as we acknowledge our role in and our power to work to dismantle systems that allow discrimination and inequity to exist in our society
• Continuing our commitment to free museum admission and to offering as many of our programs as possible at low or no cost
• Using the values of DEAI as filters for developing programs as we seek to bring a diversity of artists to the Wood River Valley in order to serve a wide range of audiences
• Recognizing our responsibility for supporting the work of historically underrepresented artists, including those who are women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+, and for sharing their work with our audiences
• Establishing goals for increased diversity and equity at the board and staff levels, creating a timeline for achieving those goals, and beginning the process of implementing them
• Developing practices aimed at recruiting and hiring a more diverse staff with a focus on where and how we advertise positions at SVMoA, establishing standards for equitable pay, and re-examining educational requirements for some positions
• Continuing our work with SVMoA’s Hispanic/Latinx Advisory Council to develop programs with the valley’s Spanish-speaking community, compensating the members of the council for their time and work
• Investing resources into expanded bilingual programming and communications with a goal of producing Spanish-language materials for all our programs
• Continuing to collaborate with indigenous artists and organizations and with organizations dedicated to environmental health and sustainability when producing projects that focus on the American West
• Seeking opportunities for partnerships and collaboration with organizations that will increase our reach in the community as we increase theirs, drawing on our neighbors’ expertise as we share ours
• Expanding our programming out into our community, beyond the walls of The Museum itself, to ensure we reach a geographically diverse audience, including those who live in neighboring rural counties
• Using our position as a trusted organization with a long history in the Wood River Valley to work alongside other local organizations to advocate for equity and inclusion for those who are marginalized in our community
• Evaluating our ability to serve those with disabilities and implementing aids to accessibility when possible

This process will be one of perpetual learning and experimentation. While we recognize that mistakes may be made, we will hold ourselves accountable and recommit ourselves toward a future in which the artists with whom we work and every member of our staff, board and audiences feel valued by and proud ownership of SVMoA.

SVMoA’s museum and administrative offices are located in Ketchum. We also operate a facility in Hailey: a historic home that was the birthplace of Ezra Pound and a state-of-the-art, freestanding classroom.

SVMoA’s current strategic plan includes a commitment to design, build, and remodel facilities to advance our programmatic promise including realizing a dynamic museum building. We continue to explore opportunities to build or remodel a new space that will engage more people on a deeper level, create more immersive experiences, and ensure accessibility for everyone in our community.

SVMoA Audited Financial Statement (Year End May 31, 2021)
SVMoA Tax Return (Year End May 31, 2021)

SVMoA Audited Financial Statement (Year End May 31, 2020)
SVMoA Tax Return (Year End May 31, 2020)

SVMoA Audited Financial Statement (Year End May 31, 2019)
SVMoA Tax Return (Year End May 31, 2019)

To clarify who we are:

We are a museum. The Sun Valley Center for the Arts was an American Alliance of Museums accredited museum since 2006, a professional designation of best practices held by fewer than 5% of museums in the United States (only five of which are in Idaho). The name Sun Valley Museum of Art emphasizes our commitment to professional presentation and engagement, honors our participating artists and elevates our audience’s expectations. We have made a choice to be a non-collecting museum which allows us to be more responsive to our community and the contemporary moment. All the artwork that is presented in our exhibitions is on loan to us from generous artists, galleries, collectors and museums.  Our accreditation assures those lenders that their work will be presented with care and professionalism.

To deliver on our mission:

Education is at the heart of all our programs. We are committed to creating arts programs that lead conversations, explore ideas, inspire wonder and build connections in our community. Museums are a place for discovery and collaborative learning. Education empowers action and inspires change—at home and across the globe.

To celebrate the modern museum:

Museums today aren’t just buildings—they are dynamic and interactive places of learning. Sun Valley Museum of Art is part of a league of 21st-century museums that embrace the importance of creating experiences for their visitors. SVMoA offers multidisciplinary programs to educate, engage and inspire. SVMoA invites multiple generations to participate in intellectual and exploratory hands-on programs. Our exhibitions include artwork by nationally and internationally known artists, and we regularly commission new work from recognized artists. The new name will signpost the quality of the work inside and communicate our commitment to providing transformative arts and educational experiences.

The contemporary museum designation implies a place for learning, not a repository of materials. We are a non-collecting museum, allowing us to focus on timely, relevant and engaging programs and exhibitions that resonate with our community. We can curate with flexibility, changing our exciting exhibitions five times a year while addressing BIG IDEAS that are challenging, interesting and current.

Even better? There’s a cool word for our approach: kunsthalle. SVMoA is a kunsthalle (German for “art hall” or “art shed”), a non-collecting institution that presents art on loan from other institutions or individuals. The kunsthalle approach affords a museum freedom to program without allegiance to or responsibility for a collection and to curate exhibitions and programs that are responsive to the contemporary moment.

The approach also allows for leaner overhead expenses so SVMoA can focus on creating an amazing experience for you—not on acquisitions, storage, recordkeeping, and conservation. Curators and artistic directors are free to present coherent thematic exhibitions that are part of larger multidisciplinary BIG IDEA projects.

SVMoA EXHIBITIONS REGULARLY INCLUDE WORK BY NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN ARTISTS, AND WE OFTEN COMMISSION NEW WORK FROM ARTISTS:

EXHIBITED ARTISTS

• Vija Celmins
• Michal Rovner
• Alfredo Jaar
• Dinh Q. Lê
• Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle
• Vik Muniz
• Martha Rosler
• Kiki Smith
• Xu Bing
• Andrea Zittel
• Mark Dion
• Spencer Finch
• Emmet Gowin
• Lesley Dill
• Marie Watt

SPECIAL PROJECTS AND COMMISSIONS

• Allan McCollum
• Camille Utterback
• Binh Danh
• John Grade
• Jason Middlebrook
• Patrick Dougherty
• Hung Liu
• Kim Abeles
• Sopheap Pich

19^th AND 20^th CENTURY ARTISTS

• Lee Mullican
• Charles Burchfield
• Helen Frankenthaler
• Helen Lundeberg
• Agnes Pelton
• Agnes Martin
• Arthur Wesley Dow
• Wolfgang Paalen
• Alfred Stieglitz
• Paul Strand
• Ida O’Keeffe
• George Nakashima
• George Catlin
• Fred Sandbck
• Timothy O’Sullivan

As an accredited museum our mission is to enrich our community through transformative arts and educational experiences.

SVMoA offers:

• BIG IDEA projects and Visual Arts Exhibitions
• K–12 Education Programs in our museum and in area schools
• Youth & Family Education Programs
• Adult Education (in Spanish and English)
• Music, Performance & Film
• Featured Speakers, Talks, Tours and Panel Discussions
• Bilingual and Spanish-only classes and lectures
• Special Events including the Sun Valley Wine Auction