Vital Support: Friends of Hopkins Center and Hood Museum of Art

Posted on June 01, 2007 by Kristin Swan

Hood Quarterly, summer 2007

The Friends of Hopkins Center and Hood Museum of Art has long been a vital and important supporter of the arts in the community. Museums and arts organizations everywhere depend on the efforts of interested individuals and dedicated volunteers to help sustain the programs that connect the performing and visual arts to a broader audience. The Friends have shown remarkable leadership in that regard. Through sponsored events such as the annual auction and the Big Apple Circus picnic, the Friends have raised and contributed over $1,750,000 in the past thirty years to initiatives such as the Friendship Fund Award to honor local teachers; ArtVentures, Hopstop, and Family Days for children; and sponsorship of Hopkins Center performances and Hood Museum of Art acquisitions.

At February's Arctic Adventure Auction celebrating the Inuit exhibition Thin Ice, the Friends witnessed the unveiling of their most recent gift to the museum—The World of Man and the World of Animals Come Together in the Shaman (1973), by artist Simon Tookoome. The print is an important new addition to the Hood's collections. We owe much to the Friends!

It is because of the remarkable success of the Friends organization throughout the forty years of their existence that we have initiated an exciting new opportunity for arts and community supporters. Beginning on July 1, 2007, the Hopkins Center and the Hood Museum of Art will each establish individual membership programs. At that time, the Friends organization will be absorbed into the new membership programs and will include enhanced benefits and greater opportunities to support the performing and visual arts. During the first year, current Friends members will become members of both the Hopkins Center and Hood Museum of Art membership programs; thereafter, they will have an opportunity to join one or the other, or both.

We are excited about the possibilities for greater engagement with individuals, families, our educational programs, and the community at large, and enthusiastic about bringing more focused support to the Hop and the Hood. Further details of member benefits and opportunities will be forthcoming. In the interim, for everyone who has experienced, firsthand, the importance of being a Friend of Hopkins Center and Hood Museum of Art, we invite you to continue your membership and become part of our future. For those who have not yet joined, we ask you to consider the possibilities!

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Written June 01, 2007 by Kristin Swan