Northeast Florida’s oldest art museum earns highest national recognition
The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, a cultural institute of the University of North Florida, is delighted to announce that it has achieved accreditation through the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition afforded to American museums. MOCA is among 35 museums to earn accreditation or reaccreditation during the AAM Accreditation Commission’s most recent cycle and is one of three accredited museums in Jacksonville, alongside the Museum of Science & History and the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens.
“After the huge success of MOCA’s 100th anniversary last year, where we saw our highest ever visitation, community engagement and growth, it is particularly exciting to announce the successful completion of this important anniversary project,” says Caitlín Doherty, executive director of MOCA. “As the first museum in Jacksonville to earn accreditation in the early 1970s while housed on Art Museum Drive, it was of great significance to seek this prestigious national recognition during our milestone year to become accredited for the first time in our current location. I am thrilled to announce that MOCA Jacksonville is once again a fully accredited museum as we move into our next century of serving this community through art, artists and ideas.”
MOCA’s strength and sustainability as it entered into the accreditation process is due, in part, to the support of UNF. In 2009, MOCA became a cultural institute of the University, creating a turning point for the museum and bringing its ongoing themes of art and education full circle. The support of UNF broadens the museum’s reach and capabilities, while creating opportunities for meaningful work that impacts the community and supports student learning opportunities.
“UNF’s museum, MOCA Jacksonville, is an important asset to the University and our region," Dr. Moez Limayem, President of UNF, notes. "MOCA provides amazing cultural experiences for the community as well as unprecedented opportunities for our art faculty and students. From internships to research fellowships, our students gain valuable hands-on experience at MOCA.”
MOCA is now counted among the 1,116 currently accredited museums of the estimated 33,000 museums across the US. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies and to the museum-going public. It indicates that a museum meets the National Standards and Best Practices for US Museums and joins a community of institutions that have chosen to hold themselves publicly accountable to a high standard of excellence. Accreditation is determined through a process of self-assessment and peer-review, and relies on the institution proving itself to be a good steward of its resources held in the public trust and a commitment to a philosophy of continual institutional growth.
“The museum in clearly a vibrant center of art, artists, ideas and creative community engagement,” says Marise McDermott, American Alliance of Museums Accreditation Commission chair and president emeritus of the Witte Museum. “The staff, board, University and the community are to be congratulated for stewarding an exemplary, public-facing art museum for the benefit of students and the Jacksonville community. It is a model for how a town-gown museum can operate successfully in both worlds. Congratulations on this achievement. I know everyone at the museum has worked hard to earn this honor.”
Developed and sustained by museum professionals for over 50 years, the AAM’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability.
“This important milestone is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the MOCA team,” says Anne Joseph, Chair of MOCA’s Board of Trustees. “This was a more than year-long process, and a core initiative of our 100th Year Anniversary vision. I am so proud that the hard work our staff has been doing for years, and the museum’s century of commitment to serving the Jacksonville community, have been recognized and validated by the American Alliance of Museums. This high profile, peer-based evaluation of the museum’s operations and impact not only increase MOCA’s credibility and value to stakeholders, it sets the museum apart in the field and is a powerful tool to help create and leverage relationships with peer institutions. This only means great things for the Jacksonville community, as it looks ahead to a future filled with exhibitions, installations, and loans of artwork of the highest caliber, and all in the heart of Downtown Jacksonville.”