The David Owsley Museum of Art has long been dedicated to the education of students as well as members of the community and has been a welcoming place to visit and experience beauty and diversity. In the collection on view, works of art from around the world and spanning vast periods of time are represented. To better understand the public’s view of the David Owsley Museum of Art, several people were recently asked what they thought of the museum and its impact on the community.

Among them was Sandra Kelly, a member of the Friends Executive Committee who has been involved with the museum for almost 50 years. She spoke to the importance of art and why it should be seen as an asset to the Muncie community: “I think it’s important to have art as another dimension of your life and I think we can learn a lot from art and, particularly, history. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have been an art history major.”

Stefan Anderson, former Chairman of First Merchants Corporation and current Chairman of the George and Frances Ball Foundation, said the exhibits at DOMA are “exhilarating, different, and changing” and, as he stated, “it is an honor to be a part of this museum.”

Warren Vander Hill, former Provost of Ball State University, underscored the community connection.

“I think [the museum] is a first class example of the cooperation between ‘the town and the gown’ and that is that David Owsley[‘s] concern was not just that this is a university resource … but also a valuable community resource and it is, indeed, that. To have this kind of museum for a mid-sized public university is really very unusual in all of American higher education. … It is of paramount importance because it speaks to the significance of the humanities and the place of the humanities on this campus. …it is absolutely a first rate asset.”

Please consider the David Owsley Museum of Art, an asset to the Muncie community, while planning your end-of-year donations.