As work continues on the new Arkansas Arts Center (AAC) facilities, officials are preparing to make significant investments in the institution to boost outreach and access.
The Arkansas Arts Center will be phasing out multiple digital systems and databases and investing in new fundraising, sales website and collections systems. The AAC will transition to the TMS Collection database system, a database used by the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and other prominent museums.
To fund the system transitions, the AAC will utilize a National Endowment of the Humanities totaling $166,875 and an Institute of Museum and Library Service grant totaling $203,032 These grants will supplement funds raised through the $128 million fundraising campaign.
In addition, the AAC website will be redesigned by Forum One, a Virginia-based company, to provide a streamlined online experience. The museum will also be shifting to Tessitura for its fundraising, customer relationship and ticketing functions.
“All of these investments will allow for an elegant and seamless experience from the moment visitors land on our website, explore our collection works, engage with our program offerings and more,” AAC Executive Director Victoria Ramirez said in a statement. “This seamless experience will continue as they visit a completely new museum in 2022, and even beyond we continue to invest in ways to reach more communities across the state through digital outreach.”
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