McNay Art Museum Awarded $500,000 Grant from Kronkosky Charitable Foundation to Advance Accessibility

Investment supports organization-wide accessibility assessment and implementation plan across 25-acre campus

SAN ANTONIO — The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation has awarded the McNay Art Museum a $500,000 grant to support enhanced accessibility across the institution’s 25-acre campus and expand access to its digital and programmatic offerings.

Structured in two phases, the grant funds an organization-wide accessibility assessment followed by the development and implementation of a prioritized plan for improvements. The McNay will begin work immediately, engaging recognized accessibility consultants with experience serving museums and cultural institutions. Their findings will inform customized recommendations grounded in national best practices and current research.

In the second phase, the McNay will evaluate the recommendations and begin implementing those that will make the greatest difference for visitors, ensuring the work moves beyond assessment to meaningful and lasting change. The award is designed to expand access, deepen audience engagement and strengthen the Museum’s long-term relevance and sustainability.

“Belonging is more than an open door. It is whether a person can move through this campus comfortably, connect with the art and feel that the McNay has our whole community in mind,” said Matthew McLendon, Ph.D., director and CEO of the McNay Art Museum. “We are grateful to Kronkosky for an investment that lets us pursue that standard across all 25 acres, in our galleries, our grounds, our programs and our digital presence.”

Accessibility is fundamental to the McNay’s mission of engaging a diverse community in the discovery and enjoyment of the visual arts. By enhancing the physical, sensory, programmatic and digital experience, the Museum aims to ensure that its offerings can evolve along with the needs of the San Antonio community.

The grant also underscores the McNay’s vision to be San Antonio’s place of belonging, advancing the legacy of founder Marion Koogler McNay, whose commitment to the community established the Museum as a place where art, access and lifelong learning intersect.

As San Antonio’s population grows, the McNay is deepening its focus on audiences whose needs and experiences can often be overlooked. Older adults are among the fastest-growing demographic groups in the region and across Texas yet remain underrepresented in museum attendance despite strong interest in lifelong learning, cultural participation and social connections. The initiative also supports the McNay’s commitment to veterans and military families, a particularly important constituency in a city that identifies as Military City, USA. Barriers to participation are not always visible and can include mobility limitations, sensory sensitivity and challenges associated with post-traumatic stress. The McNay sees natural common ground between its creative aging work and its engagement with veterans, as well as expanded opportunities for all audiences to connect through art.

The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation funds nonprofit agencies in Texas counties of Bandera, Bexar, Comal and Kendall that create profound good through caring for vulnerable populations and cultivating vibrant communities. Its investment in the McNay recognizes accessibility as essential infrastructure for a welcoming cultural institution.

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About the McNay Art Museum
The McNay Art Museum engages a diverse community in the discovery and enjoyment of the visual arts. Built in the 1920s by artist and educator Marion Koogler McNay, the Spanish Colonial Revival residence became the site of Texas’ first modern art museum when it opened in 1954. Today, 100,000 visitors a year enjoy works by modern masters including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The 25 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds include sculptures by Willie Cole, Robert Indiana, Luis A. Jiménez Jr., Alejandro Martín, George Rickey, Joel Shapiro, Kiki Smith, Tom Wesselmann and others.

For more information about the McNay, visit www.mcnayart.org.

The McNay is open Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m.