50 for 50: Reimagining Collections Care Through a Landmark Art-Sharing Initiative

ID: WMA2026_582

Track: Collections

Discover how the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s “50 for 50” initiative is redefining collections care through a national model that shares American art across all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Examining the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art’s role as the host venue for Utah, this session highlights creative strategies for reimagining storage and stewardship through cross-institutional partnerships. Attendees will walk away with practical approaches to enhance collections care and access through intra-museum collaboration. 

Session Information

Format: Regular session/panel (roundtable, single speaker, etc.)

Uniqueness: “50 for 50” is the most extensive lending project undertaken by an American museum, both in number of artworks and the breadth of its geographic reach.

Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

1. Identify sustainable collection care strategies that leverage cross-institutional partnerships to address storage, stewardship, and resource constraints. 
2. Analyze the “50 for 50” initiative as a replicable model, understanding how national initiatives, regional implementation, and philanthropic partnerships can align to strengthen collections access and care. 
3. Develop actionable next steps for fostering collaboration within and across institutions, including identifying potential partners, framing shared goals, and aligning stewardship priorities.  Through a national-to-local case study approach, attendees will gain both strategic insight and practical tools to adapt collaborative models to their own institutional contexts. Participants will leave inspired to reimagine collections stewardship not as an isolated responsibility, but as a shared field-wide effort grounded in partnership, creativity, and sustainability.

Engagement: This session will incorporate facilitated audience dialogue, guided Q&A, and brief peer-to-peer discussion prompts to encourage shared problem-solving around collections storage and collaboration. Attendees will be invited to reflect on their own institutional challenges and identify potential partnership opportunities. Presenters will provide practical examples and adaptable strategies, ensuring participants leave with concrete ideas and actionable next steps for strengthening collections stewardship through collaboration.

Relationship to Theme:

Audience

Audiences: Curators/Scientists/Historians Development and Membership Officers Registrars, Collections Managers 

Professional Level: Mid-Career 

Scalability: The strategies discussed are adaptable across museum sizes, budgets, and collecting scopes. While “50 for 50” operates at a national scale, its core principles of shared stewardship, partnership-driven problem-solving, and creative resource alignment can be implemented by small, mid-sized, and large institutions alike. Attendees will see how scalable frameworks can address storage challenges and expand access. The session emphasizes flexible models that can be tailored to varying staffing capacities, funding structures, and community contexts.

Participants