Curatorial Support Groups

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Friends of Asian Art were treated to a special viewing of a Japanese handscroll painting with Elizabeth Atkins Curator of Asian Art, Susan Tai. (June 2017)

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Susan Tai, Elizabeth Atkins Curator of Asian Art, spoke to members of FOAA about the illustrative murals in the Cave Temples of Dunhuang exhibition at the Getty museum. (July 2016)

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group of about 10 museum visitors posing for a picture in a gallery in front of some oil paintings

PhotoFutures members received a private, curator-led tour of The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art and Encore: 19th-Century French Art from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art . (November 2025)

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group of well dressed museum visitors in a gallery getting a tour from a balding man in a pink sport coat

Curatorial Support Group members enjoyed a curator-led tour of Queer Lens: A History of Photography with Paul Martineau, Curator of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum. (August 2025)

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George Legrady, Professor of Interactive Media at UCSB, spoke to PhotoFutures members about his groundbreaking career in computer technology from the 1980's to now. (May 2017)

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people in a modern interior of light gray walls looking at art on the walls and long table that runs through the frame

Naoko Takahatake, Director and Chief Curator of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts at the Hammer Museum, led PhotoFutures and The Museum Contemporaries members on a private tour of the Grunwald’s collection. (December 2025)

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in a room surrounded by art people get a studio tour by an Asian artist

Artist Pui Tiffany Chow hosted The Museum Contemporaries at her Los Angeles studio. (November 2024)

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Curatorial Support Groups offer Museum Members additional opportunities to explore, support, and share thoughts and opinions with other like-minded patrons regarding collections, exhibitions, and curatorial activities. Support Group Members gain access through the Museum’s curators to conversations with artists and scholars, private Museum tours, visits to galleries and collectors’ homes, and customized travel opportunities.

Curatorial Support Group membership is a benefit at the Museum Circles Patron levels, with an added annual donation of $2,000 (Sustaining) or $5,000 (Supporting). For more information or to join, contact Curatorial Support Group Coordinator Judy Deatherage at 805-884-6442 or jdeatherage@sbma.net.

Members of The Salon enjoy exclusive early access to exhibitions and new acquisition previews, and special access to curators and conservators at museums locally, nationally, and abroad.

Friends of Asian Art support the Elizabeth Atkins Curator of Asian Art, Susan Tai, in developing the Museum’s Asian art collection and sponsoring related events. Established in 1978, the Friends of Asian Art support the Museum’s Asian Art programs in exhibition, acquisition, education, and publication. This group fosters a growing, vibrant community of individuals interested in the diverse culture and art of Asia.

Led by the Curator of Photography and New Media, PhotoFutures is a dynamic support group celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. PhotoFutures has helped the Museum build a collection of nationally recognized importance while deepening its members’ interest and knowledge in the photographic arts. Members enjoy rare access to extraordinary private collections and respected experts in the field.

In support of Curator of Contemporary Art James Glisson, programs and events of The Museum Contemporaries foster the knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art in the Santa Barbara community. Activities include exclusive access to Curatorial Salons, as well as special tours to galleries, museums, artists’ studios, and home collections.

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