Museum

Today, the museum is committed to creating a sense of belonging for all people, advocating for the power of art to uplift, surprise, challenge and transform, and to provide avenues for exploring the world, past and present, for informing our future and creating a better society.

The museum embraces IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Sustainability) as core values, and strives to contribute to the wellbeing of both individuals and the community.

Since 2002, the museum has offered free admission to all. The museum has fully rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2025 annual attendance is forecasted to be around 600,000. Within one generation, attendance is expected to reach one million as the city grows and the museum diversifies its programs and exhibitions to attract wider audiences.

A central part of the community, in a single year the museum welcomes around 35,000 students on group tours and averages 2,225 programs (including festivals, lectures, tours and workshops). Included in these is the annual Mary Atkins Lecture, presented since 2011 by architects and other art world leaders.

Guided by its 2021 strategic plan, this world-class museum energetically promotes wider accessibility for all people to experience art.

The Nelson-Atkins displays visual culture spanning 5,000 years of human creativity and achievement. With over 270,000 volumes, the Spencer Art Reference Library is the largest Art Library in the Central Plains region. 

The Nelson-Atkins is now home to over 42,000 art objects, thanks to donations from its generous patrons. Recently, the Hall Family Foundation gave the Hallmark Photographic collection of over 6,500 works, along with 84 sculptures, including works by Henry Moore and Mark Di Suvero. 

Other major donors include the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation and the Ever Glades Fund; the William T. Kemper Collecting Initiative; and Marion H. and Henry W. Bloch; along with passionate and generous Kansas City collectors.

Strategic Objectives

• Enhance and enliven the museum and campus to create an inviting, transparent, energizing and dynamic environment; achieve this through a design that expresses art’s ability to bring people together, create a sense of belonging, and inspire human creativity
• Design an original new addition (or ensemble) of world class architectural quality and significance in dialogue, confidently and respectfully, with the site’s existing icons
• Create a new and intuitive primary arrival/​welcome experience – encouraging a wide and diverse public to access the collections – along with improved indoor/​outdoor connectivity, and spaces that provide creative experiences for the community
• Design new spaces as well as remaking and configuring existing spaces to create new education, exhibition, event, hospitality and visitor amenities 
• Affirm sustainable values – from design through to operations and use – achieving a near zero energy target, making design choices incorporating energy-saving, green technologies where possible, and respecting the natural environment
• Raise the profile of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art across the region, the US, and worldwide