Bridgemaker Prize Awarded to San Diego Museum of Art and the Westmoreland Museum of American Art
8Aug. 5, 2026
Earlier this week, theArt Bridges Foundationannounced that two museums—TheSan Diego Museum of Artand TheWestmoreland Museum of American Art—are the recipients of the second annual Bridgemaker Prize. The prize, which this year comes with a $75,000 award to support future projects, is given to Art Bridges’ museum partners whose institutional endeavors have expanded access to American art, prompted community engagement, and reimagined audience interaction with their collections.
“Both of our recipients this year have used our partnership to answer a simple but profound question: How do we make sure everyone feels welcome here?” Anne Kraybill, the CEO of Art Bridges, said in a statement.
Via its partnership with Art Bridges, the San Diego Museum of Art has more than tripled its community engagement between 2024 and 2026, the organization said. The museum has also co-created programming with more than 25 local partners that speaks to underserved communities, including people with disabilities and people with refugee backgrounds. Per Art Bridges, SDMA welcomed approximately 7,000 new visitors from underserved populations in 2024.
“Our goal has never been simply to open our doors, but to make sure everyone in our region feels this museum belongs to them,” Roxana Velásquez, the Maruja Baldwin Executive Director and CEO of the San Diego Museum of Art, said in a statement. “This support from Art Bridges allows us to deepen that work and reach even more of our neighbors.”
For its part, the Westmoreland Museum of Art utilized its partnership with Art Bridges to develop the Art Maze, an interactive installation that transformed the museum’s Cantilever Galleries into a navigable labyrinth painted by local artists. The success and popularity of the maze boosted family audience attendance at Westmoreland from 15% in 2024 to 30% in 2025.
Founded in 2017 by Alice Walton, a prominent philanthropist and heiress to the Walmart fortune, the Art Bridges Foundation’s mission is to expand access to American art across all regions of the United States. Walton also opened the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in 2011; the Bentonville, Arkansas campus recently underwent a $150 million expansion project.