The OMA began as a small art center with a group of artists who met informally in the early 1920s, displaying and critiquing their work. The OMA’s subsequent development was one of rapid growth guided by community leadership and support. As a community-based, community-supported museum, the OMA targets its services for an estimated 3.5 million residents and visitors in the nine-county Central Florida area.
The OMA has maintained its national accredited status by the American Association of Museums without interruption since 1971. Only 774 museums out of 17,500 in the United States are accredited. The OMA has been ranked by the State as one of the top major art museums in Florida for its demonstrated national leadership for program excellence and statewide impact, which has brought national and international attention to Florida and improved the State’s quality of life and economy.
The OMA was cited by Newsweek as one of the best museums in the South, and its exhibitions, collections and programs have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Art in America, ArtNews, American Art Review, Art and Antiques, The Antique Collector, The Print Collector’s Newsletter, Sculpture, American Print Alliance, Southern Accents, Southern Living, Time Magazine and hundreds of other major publications.
