The Mission of the University Art Museum

Binghamton University’s founding visionaries recognized the importance of a university art museum in educating and enriching the lives of students and the community. Over the past 60 years, the Art Museum has been free and open to the public; some 25,000 people visit each year. The museum has collected more than 3,000 artifacts and works of art from around the globe, dating as far back as 4,000 BC. From a pre-Columbian clay horse figurine to an 18th century Tibetan bronze head, these original treasures bring historic cultures to life for enthusiasts on and off campus.

In addition to its Permanent Collection, the University Art Museum showcases the original works of the University’s creative students, faculty and staff; it also displays thought-provoking traveling exhibits that complement the University’s educational mission. In turn, the museum has drawn upon its own impressive resources to mount renowned exhibits that travel around the United States and abroad.

As the only historical art museum in the greater Binghamton area, the University Art Museum recognizes its responsibility for reaching out to local K-12 students. Through the Art in Education program, museum staff members travel to area schools year-round, giving children the exciting opportunity to see, study and experience original art in their own classrooms. Centuries-old artistic and cultural traditions become both tangible and accessible for traditionally underserved audiences.

Through all these endeavors, we have merely laid the foundation for a great University Art Museum. Now that Binghamton has cemented its reputation as the premier public university in the Northeast, we need to develop the facility and its resources so the museum’s reputation reflects that of the University. A great public university deserves a great art museum.