This Sunday, December 15, 2024 is FAMily Day.  A  FREE day for our community!

You can give to the Annual Fund all year!

The Annual Fund Drive Donations 
FAM makes this funding appeal to you at the end of our 75th Anniversary Year!

Dear Supporters of FAM,

We invite you to read this 2024 Year-End Annual Fund Drive appeal, as it is full of impressive updates regarding this calendar year ending December 31, 2024!  

As you know, The Fresno Art Museum is Fresno’s nationally-recognized fine art museum, best known for exhibiting modern and contemporary art from California, art by women artists, and works of art on paper, along with exhibitions that reflect the visual arts traditions of the ethnic groups that contribute to the rich diversity of the San Joaquin Valley. The Fresno Art Museum’s permanent collection of over 3,800 paintings, prints, and sculptures by important local, regional, national, and international artists includes a superlative collection of art of the ancient Americas which spans more than 2,500 years of the major artistic traditions of cultures in West Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Peruvian Andes. Founded in 1949, the Fresno Art Museum has been located at First Street and Clinton Avenue in Radio Park since 1960.

It is so exciting that the Fresno Art Museum celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2024 and continues to provide its energetic and scholarly programs, exhibitions, and educational opportunities for the central San Joaquin Valley. Our Giving Tuesday and Year-End Annual Fund Drives kick off our raising $75,000 to commemorate our 75 years and thus generously fund this beloved Fresno fine art museum!   We truly appreciate your belief in our Museum’s mission and your commitment to FAM making a positive impact on our community. Your donations, no matter the size, make a difference and contribute to the success of the Museum as we celebrate our 75 years. Your participation today helps the Museum meet its cultural and aesthetic mission in several immediate ways:  

1. This year for the first time, your primary financial support of FAM is supplemented with a grant received from the City of Fresno Measure P tax initiative. This additional funding allows FAM to establish deeper and broader connections with its diverse communities by developing new programming that brings art, ideas, and creativity together. So far this fiscal year, FAM has used these funds to host Museum Day in our Sculpture Garden for our partner regional exhibiting institutions; to to present a free lecture in partnership with the Mexican Consulate with Professor Luis Lara Valdés from Mexico; provide FREE DAYS to the public on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month; and to organize our December 2024 FAMily Day, also free to the public.  

2. With continued generous community support, the Museum will expand and enhance opportunities for community engagement through its exhibitions, permanent collection, educational initiatives, and public programming.

Your gift to this Year-End Annual Fund Drive sustains the growth and improvement of these essential community-focused activities.

Thank you for your monetary contribution in helping to cement the current and future impact of the Fresno Art Museum. We also thank you for being a valued supporter of our Museum community. We look forward to welcoming you at the Museum soon to explore together the wonders of art and culture as we have done for the last 75 years! Thank you for celebrating this milestone with us!  

With appreciation and gratitude,                      

Michele Ellis Pracy
Executive Director and Chief Curator

Terry Skoda
President, Board of Trustees    

Thank you for helping us meet our
Annual Fund GOAL!


 

 


Annual Fund contributions are NOT applied toward Membership dues and are, therefore, fully tax-deductible as allowed by law. If you have questions, please confirm this with your tax advisor.

Donors at the $2,500 level or above will be recognized on our Donor Wall in the Museum vestibule. Please contact Craig Hamilton Arnold to advise how you wish to be recognized by clicking on his name or by calling 559.441.4221 x108 to leave a message.


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A few examples of what visitors are saying about FAM:

Came in with no expectations. Was wonderfully delighted by how much I learned. The exhibits were delightful and thought-provoking.
                                                                                                                      - Jen H., San Jose, CA

So nice to have a museum in town. We all need a little more culture to appreciate our differences.
                                                                                                                       - Lovella, Fresno, CA

Such interesting artwork. I really enjoyed my afternoon here.
                                                                                                  - Kate Domshy, Alberta, Canada

Nice, knowledgable staff! Beautiful galleries with amazing exhibitions. Mary Blair! Maurice Sendak! Excellent!
                                                                             - Donna & Tony Natsoulas, Sacramento, CA

So glad we have the opportunity to experience the arts in a venue like this here in Fresno.
                                                                                                            - Clare Nadores, Clovis, CA

We enjoyed the playful art and the more serious. Beautiful. Very nice. I hadn't been here since the 1980s. Different place!
                                                                                               - Lew & Karen Steinhoff, Clovis, CA

What teachers are saying about their field trips to FAM:

We have had the opportunity to attend a few field trips at the art museum. The exhibitions are magnificent and full of content that can be brought back to the classroom. My students really enjoyed connecting our science, SEL, and writing to this art lesson. 
                                                             - Bianca Origel,third-grade teacher
                                                                Birney Elementary School, Fresno Unified May 2024 

We all enjoyed the visit and information that was given at the museum. They loved the hands-on art lesson and the follow-up lessons. They are well-made and paced. Excellent experience! 
                                                               - Cindy Martinez, third-grade teacher
                                                                  Wishon Elementary School, Fresno Unified May 2024 

This was definitely a great experience. Integrating art into our learning is fun and very meaningful. I learned that my students need more opportunities like this to help them explore their creativity. Please continue this amazing opportunity for students. 
                                                               - Regina Prum, third-grade teacher
                                                                  Roeding Elementary School, Fresno Unified May 2024  

The students still talk about their time at the museum. They have asked when they will be able to return. I think that is proof of the impact of our visit. 
                                                    - Juliana Bonilla, third-grade teacher
                                                      Jefferson Elementary School, Fresno Unified December 2023  

Students always enjoy a good story. I always enjoy when we return from the museum and they begin to see illustrations in a new way. Builds their confidence. 
                                                    - Jennie Cortez, third-grade teacher
                                                       Jefferson Elementary School, Fresno Unified December 2023