Chartered in 1962, the Museum Association of New York is a member-based service organization that works on behalf of all museums in the state to strengthen organizational capacity and give voice to the field's needs.
The Museum Association of New York (MANY) inspires, connects, and strengthens New York’s cultural community statewide by advocating, educating, collaborating, and supporting professional standards and organizational development.
MANY ensures that New York State museums operate at their full potential as economic drivers and essential components of their communities.
MANY serves over 1,400 museums across New York State’s Regional Economic Development Council’s ten regions including museum studies professors and students, library partners and museum industry partners. MANY has over 650 members including museums of all disciplines, budget sizes, and geographic locations in our state.
The Museum Association of New York is the only statewide association of museum professionals speaking with one powerful voice supporting NY’s museums, historical sites, wildlife centers, and cultural institutions. MANY has embraced the AAM's new Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Policy and encourages all of its members to follow its lead. MANY strengthens the capacity of New York State’s cultural community by supporting professional standards and organizational development. We provide advocacy, training, and networking opportunities so that museums and museum professionals may better serve their missions and communities.
MANY offers direct technical services, models best practices, promotes policy issues, analyzes trends, publishes documents and articles of interest to the field, and advocates to strengthen and promote NY’s cultural institutions. MANY produces an annual conference that attracts 400+ museum professionals, professional development workshops, 12-15 regional networking opportunities, The Museum Institute at Great Camp Sagamore and training in conjunction with partner organizations including NY State Parks, I Love NY, NY State's Office of Cultural Education, and NY State Tourism Industry Association.
Beginning in March 2020 following the New York on Pause order to fight COVID-19, MANY began a series of Virtual Meet Ups to share resources and offer support for the museum community. The series will continue as museums reopen to address topics including best practices for welcoming staff and visitors safely into museum spaces, and strategies for strengthening diversity, equity, inclusion, and access initiatives in the field.
MANY as it exists today is the result of a merger between the Upstate History Alliance and the Museum Association of New York that took place between 2012 and 2014. The merger successfully created the Museum Association of New York, the only statewide association of museum professionals that speaks with one voice to support museums, historical sites, wildlife centers, and cultural institutions. During the years that followed MANY’s incorporation by the New York State Department of Education in 1962, MANY predates the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts.