The Speed Art Museum

As a VENUE: Host your event…

The perfect union of classic and contemporary, the new Speed Art Museum provides a unique and artful setting for your next event. Spaces range from the strikingly modern Art Park and North Addition, designed by renowned museum designer Kulapat Yantrasast, to the elegantly traditional 1927 building and South Courtyard. Nine distinctive rental spaces are offered:

• Grand Hall: An exceptional space for meetings, weddings, receptions or lectures, the Grand Hall overlooks the Piazza and features an oversized door that can be opened to create an outdoor extension of the space.
• Atrium: Just off the Grand Hall, the Atrium features an elegant floating staircase that leads to the upper galleries and exhibitions. From there, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the Art Park, reflecting pool and Grand Lawn.
• Art Terrace: Our second-floor Art Terrace overlooks the Piazza to create a refined setting for a special dinner or cocktails before treating your guests to a private tour of the museum.
• Wiltshire at the Speed Café: Available outside normal museum operating hours, Wiltshire at the Speed provides the perfect spot for meetings, breakfast events, baby showers and private parties.
• Original 1927 Building: Classically beautiful architecture and the opulent Grand Staircase provide superb photo opportunities, while the Art Bridge offers an ideal spot for tossing the bouquet to guests in the court below.
• English Renaissance Room: Rich in character and history, the English Renaissance Room features dark woods and a decorative coat of arms display to create a distinguished setting for intimate functions.
• Cinema & Lobby: Perfect for film screenings, presentations and receptions, this state-of-the-art theater includes an adjoining Green Room and a lobby with floor-to-ceiling glass windows that look out to the South Courtyard.
• South Courtyard: Just outside the Speed Cinema, the beautifully landscaped South Courtyard features built-in tiered seating, making it ideally suited for outdoor weddings and performances.
• Galleries: Treat your guests to an after-hours viewing of works in the Speed’s permanent collection or special exhibitions with optional talks by expert guides.

Support the Speed Art Museum …by simply booking your next special occasion here:
https://www.speedmuseum.org/events-programs/facility-rental/

As a SHOP: Discover unique gifts…

The Museum Store supports the Speed’s mission—we invite everyone to celebrate art forever—by offering souvenirs and gifts that tell the stories of our exhibitions, collections, programming, and community. Many items are designed in-house by a team comprised of members representing the Guest Relations, Curatorial, Marketing, Advancement, and Education departments, and are only available at the Speed Art Museum Store. In addition to Speed-exclusive items, Merchandise Buyer and Developer Jae Grady curates a selection of merchandise produced by vendors with a focus on supporting local, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses including Americana Fiberworks and Maizie Clarke. 100% of the profits generated from the sale of Museum Store merchandise supports the Speed’s operations, exhibitions, and programming. Speed Members always receive a 10% store discount.

Support the Speed Art Museum …by simply purchasing your specialty merchandise here:
https://www.speedmuseum.org/visit/shopping-dining/speed-museum-store/

As an EATERY: Food for thought…

Created by locally renowned restaurateur, Susan Hershberg, Wiltshire At The Speed features the cuisine of Chef Reed Johnson, serving carefully curated brunch and lunch menus with fresh, seasonal ingredients. The café also features a daily variety of pastries, sweets, lunches, and coffee.

Support the Speed Art Museum …by simply dining here:
https://www.speedmuseum.org/visit/shopping-dining/dining/

Be a DONOR: Show that you care…

At the Speed Art Museum, we invite everyone to celebrate art, forever. It is through the support of generous people, corporations and foundations that we are able to fulfill our mission. Gifts and contributions to the Speed help us to bring world-class exhibitions, expand statewide arts in education initiatives, grow and conserve the permanent collection and invite the entire community to experience the Speed.

Membership:

You belong at the Speed! At the Speed, members matter. Your contributions provide the critical support the Museum needs to continue to bring great art from near and far to the community we serve. From our thought-provoking exhibitions to our award-winning screenings in the Speed Cinema, from After Hours at the Speed every third Friday to Family Saturdays – you’ll always experience something new at the Speed! Membership is the perfect gift for birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays. Your friend or family member can enjoy a year of art, workshops, virtual lectures, discounted museum shopping, and more when you gift them with a membership. Current members can receive 10% off gift membership when they purchase by phone or in person! Your membership contribution to the Speed Art Museum makes a big impact. Members provide critical operating support so we can invite everyone to celebrate art! Memberships at specified levels are offered: * Speed for All * Individual + Guest * Family * Reciprocal * Supporter * Patron Circle * Benefactor Circle * International Benefactor Circle, and * Director Circle.

Donations:

At the Speed Art Museum, our mission is three-fold: we invite everyone to celebrate art, forever. Your support allows us not only to bring amazing exhibitions and artworks to the Museum, but helps make the Speed a more inviting and inclusive space for everyone in our community. Your contributions help us to prepare for the centuries to come by growing, protecting, and preserving our collection, expanding outreach efforts in the region, and developing new and exciting programming for everyone from first-time visitors to long-time contributors. Your support is always appreciated! Consider making a donation to help sustain outstanding programming and further the Speed’s mission.

• Annual Fund: Gifts to the Annual Fund have a meaningful impact on the Speed Art Museum. From presenting a dynamic array of exhibitions to maintaining our building to conserving works in the permanent collection and providing comprehensive education and outreach programs, gifts to the Annual Fund make it possible. You might be able to further your donation with an employer match.
• Memorial & Tribute Gifts: A memorial gift or gift in honor is an appropriate way to remember a special person while at the same time further the mission of the Speed Art Museum. Thoughtful memorial gifts and gifts in honor make it possible for the Speed to continue funding art conservation, programming, outreach initiatives, and much more.
• Planned Giving: Planned gifts, such as bequests or charitable trusts, can be an ideal way to provide a future gift to the Speed. The Museum welcomes gifts made through different planned giving arrangements, and we’re happy to help you explore options for a planned gift. Donors who have made planned giving arrangements are welcomed into the Speed’s Legacy Society.
  • Bequests: A bequest made under one’s will is often the simplest way to make a meaningful gift to the Speed. You may write a new will or simply add a codicil to your existing will. Bequests may come in any form – cash, securities, and other personal property, including works of art. Your charitable bequest is 100 percent deductible for estate tax purpose.
  • Retirement Plans: When you name children or other non-charitable heirs (other than your spouse) as beneficiaries of your retirement plans, they receive only a small fraction of the plan’s face value, with inherited assets of retirement plans being subject to both estate taxes and income taxes. You may wish to designate the Speed as the beneficiary of all or part of your retirement plan assets and set aside other assets for family and friends. As a tax-exempt organization, the Museum will generally receive the full amount of the plan’s value.
  • Life Insurance: You may want to donate an old insurance policy to the Speed. Depending on the type of policy donated, you may receive an immediate income tax deduction and be able to deduct any future premium payments on the policy.
  • IRA: The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 made the IRA charitable rollover permanent. Altruistic taxpayers have embraced the IRA charitable rollover as an opportunity to transfer up to $100,000 each year to charity without it being treated as a taxable distribution.
  • Charitable Remainder Trusts: When you establish a charitable remainder trust, you make an irrevocable gift which is placed in the trust. You can retain a certain payment that lasts for your lifetime (or includes a spouse or others). At the end of the trust term, the trust principal is turned over to the Speed to be used as you set forth in the trust document. When you fund a trust gift, you not only receive a stream of payments, but you also qualify for an immediate income tax charitable deduction, defer capital gains tax on the transfer, and reduce your taxable estate.
  • Charitable Lead Trusts: With a lead trust, you donate assets to a trust that makes payments to the Speed for the term of the trust. When the trust terminates, the assets are transferred back to you or directly to your heirs, as pre-designated by you. If the trust assets revert to you at the end of the trust term, your gift entitles you to an immediate income tax charitable deduction. If the trust assets are transferred to someone other than you at the end of the trust term, you may enjoy a substantial reduction in estate and gift taxes on the future transfer to your heirs.
  • Stock Transfers: While there are several ways to transfer appreciated securities to the Speed Art Museum, we have found the most efficient method is a direct transfer, via DTC, from your brokerage account to the Museum’s account at Schwab.
  • Donor Advised Funds: A donor-advised fund (DAF), which is like a charitable savings account, gives you the flexibility to recommend how much and how often money is granted to the Speed Art Museum and other qualified charities. You can recommend a grant or recurring grants now to make an immediate impact or use your fund as a tool for future charitable gifts.
• Corporate Support: The Speed Art Museum relies on partnerships with the business community to support the Speed’s nationally recognized exhibitions, events, education and community outreach programs. The Speed offers collaborations that help to achieve corporate marketing, philanthropy and employee engagement goals for businesses of any size including corporate memberships, sponsorships, client entertainment opportunities and events. Partnering with Speed has benefits for the organization, its employees and its clients – whether a private tour of an exhibition, attendance at one of our incredible events, or the brand exposure you are looking for in a philanthropic partner.
• Foundation Support: Foundations provide vital support that advances our mission: At the Speed Art Museum, we invite everyone to celebrate art forever. Partnerships with foundations allow us to plan compelling special exhibitions, share works in our permanent collection, deliver innovative educational programming, expand our accessibility efforts and support diverse public programming that includes lectures, film screenings, and workshops for youth and adults.
• Collector + Curator Groups: Collector + Curator Groups present an exciting opportunity to travel with curators, select artwork, vote on acquisitions, and support curatorial activities of the Speed Art Museum.
  • Charter Collectors: Charter Collectors are instrumental in acquiring major European and American paintings, sculptures, and works-on-paper for The Speed Art Museum’s collection. Members enjoy and learn about art while helping create a lasting artistic and educational legacy for the entire community.
  • Speed Contemporary: Speed Contemporary is a Collector Group offering members a unique opportunity to encounter and learn about the dynamics of provocative contemporary art in an informative and welcoming environment. As well as supporting the acquisition of art works for the Speed’s collection, Speed Contemporary also opens doors to top-notch private collections, artists’ studios, and the expertise of art professionals.
  • Art on Paper Society: Whether you are an art lover or just art curious, an aspiring artist or a seasoned collector, you are invited to join the Speed in celebrating the creative power and visual appeal of prints, drawings, and photographs. From the virtuosity of a Dürer engraving to the elegance of a Matisse drawing, from the playfulness of a Daumier caricature to the monumentality of an O’Sullivan photograph – discover what inspires you.
  • Speed Design: Celebrate great design. From yesterday. For today. Into tomorrow. From objects to architecture and everything in between, Speed Design Curator Group members carry a backstage pass to the world of design. Come join us for exclusive access to the Speed’s amazing collection and other unique, behind-the-scenes events.
  • Friends of the African and Native American Collections: This collector group addresses critical gaps in the Speed Art Museum’s collection by focusing attention on important Native American, Indigenous, and Pan-African artists. Members support the activities and programs of the African and Native American Collections. This group offers a forum for learning and discussion about issues of concern to global African and Indigenous artists, culture-bearers, and creative communities. Members enjoy and learn about art while supporting artists and helping create a lasting artistic and educational legacy for the entire community.
  • Cinephiles: Cinephiles is a Curator Group helping to support the activities of the Speed’s film department. Members will be invited to take part in quarterly special Cinephile programs like films followed by discussion, sneak previews, filmmaker visits, and restorations.

Internships: The Speed Paid Internship program provides 180 hours of paid, specialized training in the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters for interns from groups historically underrepresented in the museum field and also those who support the goal of promoting an inclusive museum which invites everyone to celebrate art, forever. Successful candidates may arrange academic credit through their college or university. Internship projects are based on the applicant’s academic requirements, skills, and interests, and on the needs of the Museum.

Docents: Docents are trained volunteers who give museum tours to both adults and students, helping visitors connect with artwork in the Speed’s galleries through an engaging dialogue. Participation in the Speed’s docent program requires a significant time commitment, but the experience is rewarding and enriching.

Volunteer:  Looking for ways to get involved? Become a Speed Art Museum volunteer! By devoting their time and talents, our dedicated volunteers play a critical role in assisting with Museum programs, gallery activities, exhibitions and special events.  Individuals who commit to a year-long volunteer role will be eligible for a complimentary Volunteer Membership at the Speed! Benefits include free admission to the Museum, discounts at the Museum Store, free/discounted tickets to Museum programs, and more!

Support the Speed Art Museum …by joining, giving, and volunteering here:
https://www.speedmuseum.org/support/