The University of Iowa Museum of Art (UIMA) set an all-time museum record for attendance at events, programs and exhibitions during the 2011-2012 academic year. The UIMA drew 145,466 people, smashing the previous record of 91,631 for 2010-2011.

Since the flood of 2008, the UIMA has had no physical museum building. Instead, it has had to think outside the box, literally, to creatively engage with its audiences. Through exhibitions in temporary locations across campus, including the Iowa Memorial Union and the UI Main Library, and at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, parts of the museum’s permanent collection have remained on display.

The UIMA has significantly increased its reach by putting art in the hands of more Iowa citizens. For example, in the past year, UIMA education programs have traveled all over the state, bringing art directly to over 12,000 K-12 students from 48 schools in 30 towns. Likewise, educational programs were provided to nearly 1,000 people in nine senior living centers across eastern Iowa, in what is turning out to be a rapidly growing initiative.

The UIMA will expand those outreach efforts in during the upcoming year with museum partnerships in Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Mount Vernon, and Dubuque, in addition to current work with partners in Des Moines and Davenport. There are also talks with organizations in the western part of the state.

In addition, the UIMA’s and Iowa’s most well known artwork, Jackson Pollock’sMural, was exhibited in the Des Moines Art Center this summer, attracting 34,200 visitors, a record number for an Iowa university art museum show.

After that exhibition, the painting was sent to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles for conservation work. Mural will be available for visitors on the West Coast, including the numerous ex-patriotIowans living in Southern California and Arizona, once a conservation effort is completed at the Getty in the spring of 2014.

“We have been given the opportunity to expand our reach and influence across Iowa and beyond, and these new offerings and approaches to arts education will have lasting effects on generations of our audiences,” says Sean O’Harrow, UIMA director.

“Outreach throughout the state is an important part of our mission, but until we have a facility that allows us to permanently house our collection on campus, we will be hampered in our efforts to engage even more Iowans and the students at the university.”

Visit uima.uiowa.edu for more information about the UIMA’s collections, exhibitions, and education programming.