Arizona’s iconic Heard Museum has connected the world to Indigenous creativity since 1929. Nearly 100 years later, a bold vision is taking shape to carry that extraordinary legacy into the next century. Walk In Beauty, the name of this historic campaign, refers to a Navajo prayer centered on harmony and balance, reflecting the spirit of this moment as we honor the Museum’s legacy while thoughtfully shaping its future.
Where We Stand
As we approach our centennial anniversary, the Board of Trustees has approved plans for a $36 million Capital Campaign focused on shaping new ways to inspire, educate and connect us all.
78%
22%
Amount Raised to Date:
$28,088,105
Amount Remaining
$7,911,895
From the Director
“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that the Heard Museum’s second century is as visionary as its first — one in which American Indian artists have an even greater platform to share their voice and vision, Indigenous creativity thrives, and every visitor finds new ways to learn, connect and belong.”
Our Legacy
The Heard Museum is the world’s largest private museum dedicated to American Indian art, stewarding a permanent collection of more than 46,000 works by Indigenous artists. Located in the heart of downtown Phoenix, the Heard is an essential driver of Arizona’s cultural economy, creating opportunities for Indigenous artists to generate income and expand awareness of their work.
$80 Million
Economic activity generated by the Heard Museum each year*
Nearly 20%
Native artists’ annual income reported as being earned through opportunities at the Heard*
“We all walk this path hand in hand together, and each of us artists are enriched and grateful for our relationship with the Heard Museum.”
*Based on a 2025 economic impact study.
Because of You, the Heard Museum Is Evolving
The Walk In Beauty campaign will create dynamic creative spaces, reimagine the presentation of unparalleled collections and build essential resources to advance the Heard Museum’s robust mission.
Securing The Future
New Landmark Exhibition
A Culinary Destination
The Creativity Hub
Protecting A Cultural Icon
A More Welcoming Way In
Endowment, Reserves & Long-Term Sustainability
Together, these funds will help strengthen the Heard’s financial foundation and provide greater stability, protect the Museum against unforeseen needs and give future leaders the flexibility to pursue ambitious artistic and educational opportunities.
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The Walk in Beauty campaign will support programs, facilities, collections, and institutional excellence well beyond the centennial, providing a foundation for long-term sustainability that includes:
- A $10 million increase to the Heard Museum’s endowment
- Strengthen operating costs & capital reserves
- Establish an opportunity fund for future artistic & programmatic initiatives
- Support campaign costs & contingency needs
This project will strengthen the Heard’s financial foundation so that the Walk In Beauty campaign’s physical and programmatic transformations can be sustained for generations.
ORIGINAL PEOPLE: Indigenous Creativity in the American Southwest
The culmination of years of research, scholarship, and engagement with Native artists, cultural leaders, elders, and communities, the exhibition will transform how visitors experience the Heard Museum’s permanent collection.
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The presentation of the long-running exhibition HOME: Native People in the Southwest will be reimagined into a new landmark exhibition that includes:
- A complete reinstallation of 10,000 square feet of gallery space
- The culmination of years of research, scholarship, and engagement with Native artists, cultural leaders, elders, and communities
- Representation from over 40 tribal nations across California to Oklahoma
- Works drawn from the Heard’s collection of more than 46,000 objects spanning 400 years
- Both historic and contemporary art in dialogue, presenting Indigenous creativity as living, evolving and inseparable from the people, histories and cultural knowledge it represents
- New casework, lighting, technology and accessibility features
ORIGINAL PEOPLE will bring historic and contemporary works into dialogue, presenting Indigenous creativity as living, evolving, and inseparable from the people, histories, and cultural knowledge it represents.
The New Heard Museum Restaurant
A new, bespoke venue for the museum’s nationally recognized restaurant will extend the visitor experience beyond the traditional museum day, offering a distinctive culinary experience connecting food, culture and creativity.
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The new restaurant will build on the success of the award-winning Courtyard Café, reintroducing the Heard Museum’s culinary experience with a dedicated standalone venue that includes:
- Two floors spanning a total of 8,100 square feet
- Indoor & outdoor seating
- A full bar & lounge
- Daytime lunch & evening dinner service
- An updated menu of contemporary Southwestern dishes
- A private dining banquet room for up to 48 guests
- Southwestern interior design featuring American Indian art
The Native influenced, southwestern inspired, and chef-driven menu will feature Heard favorites along with an expanded range of offerings for all visitors. The private dining banquet room located on the 2nd floor will provide opportunities to collaborate with Indigenous chefs through culinary educational programs exploring traditional native foodways.
A Place to Express Your Creativity, Every Day
Designed to be an inviting, accessible center for lifelong learning and intergenerational experiences, this dedicated facility will provide a space for all ages to learn, gather, and engage with Indigenous art and one another.
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The existing Dorrance Education Building will be fully renovated into a dynamic Creativity Hub that includes:
- A more flexible classroom & makerspace, expandable to accommodate large groups when needed
- A welcoming Living Room with a glass-walled patio garden, allowing patrons to enjoy informal community gatherings or space for personal reflection
- A multipurpose activity room with full AV capabilities and special (sprung) flooring ideal for patron comfort
- A glass-walled porch on the Children’s Courtyard, fully opening into the adjacent classroom and making indoor/outdoor programming significantly easier
- A new glass-enclosed entrance and lobby to welcome and orient patrons
- A new interior hallway offering space for displaying student art
- Accessible restrooms and visitor amenities
This comprehensive renovation of the facility that has housed the museum’s public and education programs for more than 20 years will expand its footprint and flexibility, enabling the Heard to increase weekly offerings and develop new approaches to community engagement. As an anchor for the museum’s public programming and educational initiatives, the Creativity Hub will serve school groups, educators, families, Native learners, older adults, and visitors of every age through workshops, demonstrations, performances, talks, makerspace activities, and informal creative experiences.
Critical Infrastructure Improvements
As the Heard Museum approaches its centennial, essential improvements are needed to protect its historic campus and strengthen the systems behind every exhibition, program and experience while ensuring we continue to sustain our level of excellence.
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These critical investments will provide Arizona’s historic Heard Museum campus with protection & essential infrastructure support that includes:
- Repairs to the original 1929 tile roof and other critical sections protecting the museum’s collections
- Replacement and maintenance of aging HVAC systems
- Electrical-system upgrades
- Improved gallery lighting
- Accessibility improvements
- Additional seating, furnishings, and other visitor-comfort amenities
The Heard Museum is one of only two museums in the American Southwest that is a member of both the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD). These improvements will ensure that the museum continues to meet the highest professional standards.
Campus Arrival, Landscaping & Accessibility
A reimagined arrival experience will welcome all visitors with an immediately identifiable Grand Entry including professional landscaping, sculpture and directional signage that guides visitors directly to the Admissions lobby.
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A comprehensive redesign of the Heard Museum’s north campus will make the visitor experience easier to navigate, with a more inviting Central Ave main entrance that includes:
- Clear signage positioned across the arrival pathway for easy wayfinding among all facilities
- Improved pathways and walking surfaces, beautified with professional desert landscaping
- New lighting to fully showcase the restaurant as an evening destination & improve nighttime visibility across campus
- Additional spaces for outdoor seating, shade, & areas of respite
- Accessibility improvements throughout the arrival sequence
- Newly installed outdoor sculpture from the permanent collection
This project will will reinforce the campus’s distinctive sense of beauty and serenity while creating a clearer path from parking and the new restaurant to the Museum Shop, Central Courtyard, and main entrance.
Be Part of What’s Next
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Your support of the Walk in Beauty campaign will help carry the Heard Museum into its next century, where we realize our vision of a future in which Indigenous creativity thrives, American Indian artists have an even greater platform to share their voice, and people of all ages find new ways to learn, create and connect.
A Shared Vision
For generations of Arizonans, the Heard offered their first exposure to the richness and diversity of American Indian art. Each year, initiatives like our Free School Tour Program, Master Artist Workshops and Creative Aging Workshops for older adults serve thousands of participants and ensure that lifelong learning is an everyday opportunity.
Leading the Way
“There is no place like the Heard Museum for nurturing curiosity, inspiring learning, and creating lifelong connections to Native art and culture.”
“Like so many Arizonans, the Heard was an indelible part of my childhood and remains one of the Southwest’s great cultural icons.”
Campaign Cabinet
- Karen Abraham
- Mark Bonsall
- Greg Boyce
- Jan Lewis
- Sharron Lewis
- Mary Ellen McKee
- Christy Vezolles
- Virginia Weisman Furth
Considering a significant donation, multi-year commitment or estate gift?
We welcome the opportunity to learn about your interests and discuss how your support can have lasting impact through the Walk In Beauty campaign.
Interested in discussing a leadership gift?
With extraordinary momentum behind us and our goal within reach, your generosity can help complete the vision for the Heard Museum’s next century.