The bainbridge island museum of art is an educational institution whose mission is to engage a diverse population with the art of our region and our time. The museum exhibits, interprets, preserves, collects, and promotes works of proven cultural value as well as new works by emerging artists and crafts people.

Arts & Culture , Museums

Bima welcomed more than 65,000 visitors in 2016. The audience ranged from the general public, to specialty group tours to regional youth and school groups that chose bima as a field trip opportunity. Bima exhibited more than 45 artists, ranging from group shows around a central theme to a major solo exhibition by a renowned local artist that included a site specific installation and internally produced exhibition catalog showcasing the artist's 30+ year career. Bima continues its goal of introducing up and coming artists to the regional art world and encouraging creativity and exploration of art in exhibiting artists. Bima is excited to expand its exhibition offerings in 2017 and continue to be a destination museum that celebrates the art and craft of our region and time. the museum store had a strong year in 2016, representing and selling the work of more than 80 northwest artists and craftsmen and achieving sales of $289,000. The store is run as a revenue neutral program that contributes greatly to the museum experience and through its generous commission structure directly supports some of the region's most distinguished artists working in glass, metal, jewelry, paper arts, and woodworking. The store maintained an average of 80% northwest, handcrafted artisan work and hosted an event every month featuring the work of a distinctive featured artist, through a trunk show, special display, or window. The museum store made big strides in smooth integration into the museum's overall patron experience, and museum associates launched a new program to sell memberships to the organization, which has proven very successful in 2016, generating over $30,000 in additional membership income. the museum bistro, open 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch, expanded its operations to include special menu dinners, film series dinners, and museum member events. The restaurant is developing a reputation for locally-sourced, seasonal cuisine and has a strong group of loyal customers as well drawing from daily museum visitors. The organization also has also expanded rental opportunities for its facilities, targeting both traditional client rentals and partnerships with community organizations. In all, the bistro & rental program was able to host more than 120 events within its facility. For both bistro & rentals, the team was able to achieve its primary goal of enhancing the museum experience through the creation of a warm, inviting place to have some food and conversation, and bringing new potential museum supporters into the venue through auditorium, classroom, and gallery space. the education team met its annual goals and took strong steps in 2015 to build out a more comprehensive educational program that both reflected and complements the core exhibition programs at bima. These include a weekly drawing workshop, artist lecture series, artist film series, after school programs, and summer art programs. In addition, education department expanded into new events, including a free multi-day dia de los muertos celebration and the free family art day. The team launched a comprehensive year round field trip program in 2016, by securing a washington state arts commission planning grant and hosted more than 60 field trips with more planned in 2017.