Academy Art Museum Youth Education Programs

Academy Art Museum Youth Education Programs take place within the Academy Art Museum, which has a long history as an arts organization. The programs are part of a museum whose building has gone through multiple expansions and renovations to include galleries, classrooms, a music studio, and a Performing Arts Auditorium.

The Academy Art Museum Youth Education Programs are part of an institution originally founded as the Academy of the Arts in 1958. The Academy moved to its current address in 1960 and was accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 2003, when it changed its name to the Academy Art Museum. In 2005, the Museum added a new wing for a Performing Arts Auditorium, and an extensive reconstruction of the Thomas-Hardcastle house created space for two galleries, a library, a music studio, and renovated administrative offices. In 2020, after a capital campaign of more than $5 million, the Museum opened a new contemporary entrance that leads visitors through the A. James and Alice B. Clark Entrance into the Saul Atrium and the Mary Lou McAllister Courtyard. In 2023, the Museum changed the name of its Drawing Studio to the McCoy Studio in honor of benefactor Catherine McCoy. The Museum states that its mission is to promote the knowledge, practice, and appreciation of the arts and to enhance cultural life on the Eastern Shore by making its collection, exhibitions, and arts programs available to everyone. Today, the Museum is described as the cultural hub of the Eastern Shore for art, music, and educational programming.

Last updated January 21, 2026.