About Us
Since opening in 1990, the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida has been a cornerstone of the North Central Florida arts and culture ecosystem.
OUR MISSION AND VISION
Inspiring, educating, and enriching lives through art
The University of Florida’s Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art’s mission is to inspire, educate and enrich people’s lives through art. The Harn uses the power of the visual arts to open conversations about our shared cultural history and pressing contemporary issues through exhibitions, collections, scholarship and programming of the highest caliber.
The Harn strives to develop an academic community of creative, divergent thinkers in collaboration with the University of Florida, and fosters joy and community by welcoming students, UF faculty and staff and local residents to engage with art.
Our Strategic Goals
In order to achieve its five-year vision of success, the Harn will pursue the following Strategic Goals, which address its exhibitions and other public programming, academic and curricular work, atmosphere and public presence, and financial and managerial platform.
Expanding Connections
Inspire connection, creativity and inquiry by aligning and enhancing the museum’s exhibition and public programming portfolio.
Expanding Minds
Expand UF students’ intellectual development and professional skills by growing and deepening art-centered contributions to academic life across disciplines while continuing to serve the Gainesville community by engaging students in community-facing programs.
Expanding Experiences
Become a campus and community destination by enhancing the Harn’s visibility and visitor experience.
Expanding Foundations
Enable the success of the previous goals by strengthening the museum’s financial and managerial platform.
A Cultural Resource for Art-Centered Experiences
Providing Relevant and High-Quality Art Exhibitions
In addition to serving the students and faculty of the university, the Harn is the most prominent fine art museum in the greater north central Florida region, and demonstrates its commitment to being a cultural resource through its free admission and art-centered experiences. The museum is known for developing high quality and relevant exhibitions–drawn from its collection of 13,300 artworks–many of which have toured across the United States.
Welcoming More than 2.5 Million Visitors
The Harn Museum of Art’s facility contains ten galleries that feature dedicated space for each of its collecting areas (African, Asian, modern and contemporary art, and photography). Since the Harn’s opening, it has served more than 2.5 million visitors.
The Harn has continued to grow with the community by expanding its space for exhibitions and activities. Expansions include an 18,000-square-foot addition built for exhibiting the Harn’s contemporary art collection completed in 2005 and a 26,000-squarefoot addition dedicated to the museum’s collection of Asian Art completed in 2012.
The Florida Art Collection
The Harn recently received The Florida Art Collection, Gift of Samuel and Roberta Vickers, which is an extensive visual record of Florida illustrated through paintings, drawings and watercolors. It includes work by many prominent American artists from the late 19th to the mid 20th centuries.
Our Policies
Provenance Research
Conservation
Deaccessioned Works
Ready to visit us?
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