What makes living in Vero Beach, Florida so special is that it combines small town charm with big city sophistication. Wikipedia said Vero Beach has more retired Fortune 500 CEO’s that any other place on earth. Maybe that’s why support for the arts is so strong.
The Vero Beach Museum of Art is the fulfillment of the combined efforts of two community based arts groups; the Vero Beach Art Club and the Alliance for the Arts. This partnership raised $2.5 million from local private sources and the Vero Beach Museum of Art opened its doors to the public debt free on January 31, 1986.
The Vero Beach Museum of Art is the principle visual arts facility for the region. Its neoclassical structure commands a premiere position in Riverside Park along the scenic Indian River. It serves more than 75,000 resident and visitors annual through exhibitions, collections, gallery tours, studio and classroom art, humanities classes for youth and adults, cinema, community events, lectures, seminars, concerts, dramatic performances, special youth events a cultural celebrations. It is applauded as the cultural heart of Vero Beach.
Since 1991, the Vero Beach Museum of Art has been recognized by the state of Florida and the Florida Arts Council as an important cultural institution through competitive grants programs
The excellence of its programs and the high degree of public participation and support was recognized by author John Villiani in his 1994 book “The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America. Villiani acknowledged the Museum as “ one of the most active small town arts facilities in the nation, with large areas dedicated to working artists, art exhibitions, and student instruction….”.
The Vero Beach Museum’s continuing growth is an expression of the community’s interest, tastes and appetite for broad based cultural offerings. The Museum is truly a “Museum” of high quality cultural education and enjoyment for the region with expectations for continued growth and professional development as demands from an expanding audience are met.
The Museum’s Board of Directors launched an Expansion Campaign for $2,750,000 in January 1997. The campaign raised nearly $6 to expand the scope and dimension of the Museum’s exhibitions, programs, facility, and endowment.
The Museum’s goal to create new dimensions of cultural service for the community and visitors included new classroom/ studio space, permanent collection galleries, enlarged Florida Gallery and museum store, a multipurpose Great Hall, catering facilities, a porte-cochere, conference room, new entrance rotunda, library expansion and many other enhancements.
The Vero Beach Museum of Art is location at 3001 Riverside Park Drive.
Tags: Vero Beach Cultural Activities, Vero Beach Living, Vero Beach Points of Interest