The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum Inc
Programs
Public Visitation and Community Engagement
Public Visitation, Membership, and Public Relations:In FY24, Winterthur continued a trend of increased visitation post-pandemic with nearly 130,000 guests visiting the museum. This nearly 17% growth relates to the popularity of the exhibit Ann Lowe: American Couturier, the spike in attendance from school children, and an increase in attendance and scope of our large-scale offerings.Winterthur continues to make substantial growth in our efforts to increase our community partnerships through several initiatives. In FY24, we hosted a second annual "Discover Winterthur Day," which is an event with no admission fees and free tabling opportunities for our community partners. Additionally, Winterthur's exhibit Ann Lowe: American Couturier resulted in multiple new connections with the African-American communities in Delaware and across the country. FY24's increase in attendance, as well as the emphasis on community-based programs directly serves Winterthur's mission to inspire and educate through our collection, estate, and academic programs.During FY24, Winterthur mounted the exhibition Ann Lowe: American Couturier. This exhibition highlighted over 40 fashion designs by the African American designer Ann Lowe. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue are the most substantial scholarly consideration of her work to date. Lowe's dresses provided an opportunity to celebrate her extraordinary talent, while exploring the complicated race-relations she faced during her lifetime. Through partnerships with local and national communities, we were able to attract new visitors and increase awareness of Lowe's work and life. During Winterthur's annual Yuletide display, we highlighted the legacy of Lowe's work by exhibiting six designs by two local African-American designers.Our school field trip initiative continues to grow under our free admission and bus funding programs. During FY24, 14,000 students engaged with a Winterthur program through onsite, virtual, and in-classroom experiences. By comparison, in FY23, we saw just over 10,000 students, which was double the previous year. We continually grow our model so that onsite field trips now spend an entire day at Winterthur and all onsite, virtual, and in-classroom participants have the option to experience multiple aspects of the institution including the collection, gardens, library, and conservation labs.In July of 2023, we hosted the third annual Artisan Market, which saw nearly 5,000 visitors to the grounds and featured over 100 local artisans. In its third year, we set a goal to increase financially accessible sales opportunities for artists. We succeeded in this goal by offer a scholarship for one artist, which waived their booth fees, as well as a including a low cost "Emerging Artist" section. This goal continues to be a focus for the event and in FY25, we extended scholarship acceptances to two artists and expanded the "Emerging Artist" section.Winterthur was supported in FY24 by approximately 11,000 member households, 93% of which reside in DE, PA, MD, or NJ. Membership at Winterthur is composed of 10 different individual membership levels, 1 corporate membership, and 3 donor societies, with annual dues ranging from $25 to $25,000+. Members made up a significant portion of general admission and add-on tickets, as well as event attendance in FY24.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2023 – Jun 30, 2024Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$9.4MCuratorial and Educational Programs
Curatorial, Conservation, Education, Library Programs:Collections - in FY24 Winterthur acquired and accessioned by gift, bequest, and purchase 127 objects and deaccessioned 55. Staff from Registration, Conservation, and Exhibitions worked with Dr. Catharine Dann Roeber to prepare objects and the gallery for "Transformations: Contemporary Artists at Winterthur" an exhibition of more than 30 contemporary artists' work in conversation with Winterthur collection objects that are on view in the Winterthur house and galleries. Curatorial collaboration with guest curator Dr. Jonathan Michael Square for the "Almost Unknown, the Afric-American Picture Gallery" exhibition to be presented in 2025 is ongoing. Curatorial staff is also working on exhibitions to be presented in 2026 to celebrate America's 250th anniversary and Winterthur's 75th. Collections staff work regularly with Exhibitions to install new acquisitions and other rotations in the galleries.Research Fellowship Program - Winterthur administers a Research Fellowship Program, which annually funds national and international scholars and creators to conduct research at Winterthur. Winterthur hosted 29 Research Fellows in FY24. The Program provides Research Fellows with staff support in areas of logistics and project consultations; access to collections and facilities; opportunities to present and publish; and opportunities to interface with graduate students.Graduate Programs - With University of Delaware, Winterthur administers and provides instruction in the Winterthur/UD graduate programs (the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture and the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation). To date, there have been 1,077 graduates of these two programs. Graduate Program activity includes teaching core, elective, and independent study coursework at Winterthur; organizing and leading national and international field study trips; serving as major/thesis advisors and providing mentorship and career counseling for students; identifying internship opportunities; organizing program events; identifying and facilitating collaborative opportunities between the two programs and with University of Delaware departments for student coursework, professional development and research funding, and campus resources; and supporting successful postgraduate placement. Winterthur Portfolio - In partnership with the University of Chicago Press, Winterthur administers an in-house academic journal, Winterthur Portfolio: A Journal of American Material Culture, publishing 3 issues annually. Winterthur Portfolio activity includes: solicitation/selection/editing of peer-reviewed articles and book reviews for publication; working with the Press on aspects of the journal's production; enhancing support for authors and promoting guidelines for sharing published work; promoting the journal and Winterthur at professional events; and overseeing the journal's editorial board and budget. Winterthur Library - The Winterthur Library acquires, preserves, and makes its collections available to the public; supports the research and scholarly activities of students, external scholars, and members of the public; provides instruction for students in undergraduate and graduate programs; and develops programs, events, and outreach initiatives. During FY24 the library added 1,116 books, periodicals, and archival and manuscript lots by purchase and gift, lent 66 items for internal and external exhibitions, and provided 2,010 items (147 loans and 1,083 scans) through interlibrary loan. The library saw 241 users by appointment to use the library circulating and special collections, and an additional 1,142 attendees of library programs, classes, and workshops.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2023 – Jun 30, 2024Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$5.6MGarden Preservation and Education
Garden / Facilities Program:Winterthur maintains a world-renowned 60-acre historic garden nestled within a nearly 1000-acre landscape with woodlands, meadows, and waterways. Visitors come from all parts of the globe. The collection of rare and historic plants includes magnolias, azaleas, minor bulbs, conifers, and specimen trees. Significant varieties in the collection are tracked or "accessioned" through a records system, which currently includes more than 15,000 accessions. Winterthur preserves the legacy of the historic garden through continued restoration and enhancement of garden areas such as the Sundial Garden, Reflecting Pool, and Enchanted Woods and through the sensitive care and restoration of ironwork and statuary throughout the landscape.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2023 – Jun 30, 2024Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$7.5M
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