Miami Beach, FL (April 27, 2006)—The Wolfsonian–FIU announces that it has achieved the highest recognition for a museum in receiving reaccreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM). Initially accredited in 1998, the next review will be in ten years.

AAM Accreditation is a seal of approval from the museum field that recognizes a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement. It also signifies that a museum fulfils its obligations to the public as set forth in its mission.

Developed and sustained by museum professionals for 35 years, AAM’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation, and public accountability. It strengthens individual museums and the entire field by promoting ethical and professional practices. Of the nation’s nearly 17,500 museums, about 775 are currently accredited. The Wolfsonian is one of only 46 museums accredited in Florida.

Accreditation is a rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. Reaccreditation is equally thorough and also requires the museum to show it has kept pace with the evolving standards of the museum field. The museum underwent a comprehensive self-assessment process followed by a site review by peer museum professionals.

Referring to The Wolfsonian, a recent visiting committee report noted, “Having just celebrated the tenth anniversary of its public opening in November, this is a relatively young museum that behaves like a mature institution.” The report further stated, “This is an ambitious institution with a fine staff, an amazing collection, and an audience that has great potential for growth and engagement. It functions within its mission, adheres to professional practices and from all observations is committed to ongoing self-examination and improvement. It has demonstrated that it can sustain growth and still function day-to-day with effective management and lively and stimulating programming.”

“We are so pleased to receive this type of recognition by our peers,” commented museum director Cathy Leff. “The Wolfsonian is an institution that continuously strives to achieve excellence and we recognize how important it is to be accountable to the public for whom we hold the collection in trust.”

About The Wolfsonian–Florida International University
The Wolfsonian is a museum, library, and research center that uses objects to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design, to explore what it means to be modern, and to tell the story of social, historical, and technological changes that have transformed our world. It encourages people to see the world in new ways, and to learn from the past as they shape the present and influence the future. The collections comprise approximately 121,000 objects from the period of 1885 to 1945 – the height of the Industrial Revolution to the end of World War II – in a variety of media including: furniture; industrial-design objects; works in glass, ceramics, and metal; rare books; periodicals; ephemera; works on paper; paintings; textiles; and medals. While these objects can best be understood in the context in which they were created, they illuminate as much about our times as they reveal about their own.

The Wolfsonian is located at 1001 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, Fla. Admission is $7 adults; $5 seniors, students, and children six-12; free for Wolfsonian members, State University System of Florida staff and students with ID, children under six, and Miami Beach residents with ID. The museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday from noon-6pm; Thursday and Friday from noon-9pm; and is closed on Wednesday. Contact us at 305.531.1001 or visit us online at www.wolfsonian.org.

The Wolfsonian receives ongoing support from the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; Crispin Porter + Bogusky; Continental Airlines, the preferred airline of The Wolfsonian; the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation; and Karla Conceptual Event Experiences.

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