In January, Anne Kraybill became the new head of the Art Bridges Foundation, which was established in 2017 by Alice Walton, arguably the nation’s most important arts philanthropist, to expand access to American art.
Seven years, a pandemic and a national loneliness epidemic later, Walton’s overarching goal of helping people “feel connected, that they belong, that they’re valued and cared for as a whole person” is becoming more relevant by the day across the arts ecosystem and the philanthrosphere at large.
In her new role, Kraybill oversees Access for All, a three-year, $40 million initiative to cover the costs of access at 64 partner museums across the country, as well as the Art Bridges Cohort Program, in which museums collaborate to create exhibitions that deepen engagement with local audiences. “Art Bridges leverages the collections of institutions that have deep holdings and brings them to small-to-midsize institutions that don’t have the resources for art acquisitions,” Kraybill told me. “We then activate the art by providing funding for learning and innovative programming.”
Kraybill spent part of her childhood in New Delhi, India, before planting roots in Baltimore. After getting her graduate degree in museum education, she served in educational roles in organizations in Florida and North Carolina, before joining Walton’s Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art for its opening in 2011, which she called “the professional privilege of my career.”
Before joining Art Bridges, Kraybill was the CEO of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, as well as CEO of the Wichita Art Museum. In both roles, she partnered with the Art Bridges Foundation to expand community access to a diverse range of artworks and programs.
I recently spoke with Kraybill about her working relationship with Alice Walton, why “threshold fear” keeps people away from museums, and the benefits of getting career advice from a stranger on a plane. Here are some excerpts from the conversation, which have been edited for length and clarity.
You worked at Crystal Bridges from 2011 to 2018. How did the museum cross your radar?
After I left my role in Florida, I moved to Durham, North Carolina, and I worked at the Durham Arts Council. Part of it was to be closer to family — my mother moved from Baltimore to North Carolina and I had just had my first son.
The council was a great organization, but it was more of an administrative role, and I came to realize that I was a museum person. I started doing research into open opportunities and that’s when I discovered Crystal Bridges Museum. It embodied everything that I valued. It wanted to place the visitors first. Art starts with great works of art, but none of that matters if you don’t value the public and getting people in.
Is there a specific piece of advice that you received at some point that guided you throughout your career?
I spent almost eight years with Crystal Bridges and loved what we were doing. But I also wanted to take the philosophy of Crystal Bridges and apply it as an executive director or CEO of a museum.
I was a candidate for two different museum roles, and I was on a flight, and a guy sitting next to me said, “So where are you going?” I said, “I’m applying to become the director of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and the search firm told me I should dial down my personality because their board is a bit more reserved.” And he said, using a very colorful term, “Blank that — you need to be yourself, because if you’re trying to sell them something that isn’t true to you, you’re going be exhausted.”
He was absolutely right. I went into the interview as the most authentic version of myself that I possibly could be, and that’s the piece of advice that I give to anybody in their career — be the most authentic version of yourself. Otherwise, that advice “fake it till you make it” fosters imposter syndrome and can take a psychological toll.
How often do you interact with Alice Walton?
I’m in touch with her on a weekly basis, and sometimes daily. It can just be very quick texts or a more formal meeting. Art Bridges is just one of many entities that she’s creating that ties art to wellness, and it’s wonderful to get a deeper understanding of what motivates her. She’s one of the most engaged founders in everything that she does.
It goes without saying that she’s been instrumental in transforming Northwest Arkansas into an international arts destination.
And it’s not just art, it’s everything that comes with it — community investment, tourism, the businesses. When I first moved here, there were two restaurants on the square. Now, it has a thriving culinary and recreational scene. It’s been transformative.
Her conception of accessibility is predicated on the idea that admission fees can be a financial barrier to entry, but if a visitor isn’t engaging with the work, you’re only getting halfway there.
Exactly. Admission fees are an obstacle, but you also have what we call a “threshold fear,” which is when some people think, “Museums aren’t a place for me,” or “Maybe I’m just not that into art.” So that’s why the programming is so important, because it extends an invitation that reducing or eliminating a fee can’t do on its own.
We want to create spaces where everybody feels represented and expand people’s perspectives about the American experience. A lot of the museums we work with were founded in a different era, and they just don’t have the acquisition budget to diversify their collection. Art Bridges is an important tool for them to expand their collections and have those conversations.
Can you point to a museum partnership that embodies this ethos?
Our Art Bridges Cohort Program encourages museums to collaborate and share their collections. Our New England cohort is led by the MFA Boston, and one of the smaller museums in their network is the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut. Working with their partners, the museum created an incredible exhibition called “A Face Like Mine,” and the impact of its programming was huge. It was a great example of museums breaking down barriers so they can be more collaborative and supportive of each other.
I realize you’ve only been on the job for five weeks, but has anything surprised you so far?
What surprised me was taking a deep dive into all of the cohorts and learning about how different they are. We have a lead institution whose director wants to build a cohort to support first-time museum directors. How cool is that? We have another museum that’s putting together a proposal for a cohort to address climate change. I think that program has some real potential to address the problems that communities are facing, rather than us as a foundation being too prescriptive.
So it’s been exciting for me to learn a little bit more about these efforts in addition to increasing the amount of great artwork that we have to offer through our partners.
Any upcoming initiatives we should know about?
At five weeks in, I can’t say that I’m prepared to announce any big new initiative. We are excited to learn from our partners about how Access for All has impacted their work and think about how we continue to roll out programs like that.
As a team, we’re getting ready to go into our strategic planning process. From there, we’ll have our roadmap. And then certainly, I can say, you’ll start to see initiatives in the intersection between how the arts can just fundamentally improve the mental and physical health of people.
You moved away from Arkansas after leaving Crystal Bridges, and now you’re back. Aside from the amazing culinary scene, what else did you miss in your absence?
Well first off, I wish I never sold my house (laughs). I missed the art and nature here. The topography is magical — not just in Bentonville, but across the state. The state park system here is phenomenal. And then just personally, I still have close friends here. So it’s great for me to be able to reconnect with them and for my kids to reconnect with their friends from almost six years ago.
