Staff Reports | Community Updates
The Heard Museum has launched a $36 million capital campaign as it prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2029, marking a century of presenting the voices and visions of American Indian artists and cultures.
Founded by Maie Bartlett Heard in 1929, the museum has grown into one of Arizona’s leading cultural institutions, welcoming more than 150,000 visitors annually and reaching another 1 million people online through its exhibitions, collections, programs and educational resources.
The campaign, titled Walk In Beauty, takes its name from a Navajo prayer emphasizing harmony and balance. The initiative is designed to strengthen the museum’s financial future, fund major campus improvements, expand accessibility and support exhibitions and programs for future generations.
“In addition to the financial campaign, the Heard’s centennial is an opportunity for us to build the collection, deepen relationships with Indigenous communities and encourage even greater engagement with all the communities the Heard Museum serves,” said Nadine Basha and Wick Pilcher, campaign co-chairs.
Campaign leaders said $23 million will support campus enhancements and accessibility improvements, $10 million will be added to the museum’s endowment and $3 million will be dedicated to operating and capital reserves.
Longtime museum supporters David Reese and ‘Weezie’ Reese have provided a lead gift of $5 million to support construction of a new venue for the museum’s nationally recognized restaurant. Additional support for the project came from Heard Museum trustees Sharron Lewis and Mary Ellen McKee.
The campaign also includes the creation of a new lifelong learning center known as the Creativity Hub, made possible through major support from E.A. Michelson Philanthropy. Designed with older adults in mind while welcoming learners of all ages, the space will expand the museum’s Creative Aging programming and offer educational opportunities for visitors with a wide range of accessibility needs.
Plans for the Creativity Hub include daily and weekly activities, classroom space and an accessible Living Room gathering area designed to encourage connection and engagement among older adults.
Accessibility improvements throughout the campus are a central component of the campaign. A $1 million grant from The Steele Foundation, honoring John Stiteler and Ellen Stiteler, will fund a redesigned museum entrance featuring enhanced accessibility features, new signage, seating areas, landscaping, lighting and outdoor sculpture installations.
The museum is partnering with PHX Architecture and Symmetry Construction on the new projects, which are expected to be completed in January 2028.
The campaign entered its public phase Oct. 1 after securing $28 million, or 78% of its fundraising goal, from more than 50 local and national foundations, families and individual donors.
“We are grateful for the outstanding support we have received so far in support of our Walk In Beauty Centennial Campaign,” said David M. Roche, Dickey Family Director and CEO of the Heard Museum. “The generosity of so many affirms the special place that the Heard Museum holds in the heart of the Arizona community and the strong desire to see the museum thrive in its next century.”
The campaign will culminate with the museum’s centennial celebration in 2029, honoring the institution’s first century while positioning it for continued growth and service in the decades ahead.
