Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

What Cedar Rapids Museum of Art does

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (CRMA) is a private nonprofit art museum founded in 1895 and headquartered at 410 3rd Ave SE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It operates a traditional museum business model combining unit-priced admission ($5-$10), recurring memberships, museum store retail, corporate sponsorships, facility rentals, and an annual fund that draws more than 80% of its budget from individual donors. Its core product is a portfolio of permanent and rotating exhibitions anchored by the world's largest collection of works by Regionalist artist Grant Wood, with additional significant holdings of Marvin Cone and Mauricio Lasansky across four dedicated galleries. CRMA also owns and operates the historic Grant Wood Studio at 810 Second Ave SE, where Grant Wood painted American Gothic in 1930, offering free docent-guided tours April through December.

The museum serves families with children, general art enthusiasts, continuing education learners, and wellness seekers through a diversified programming slate including Doodlebugs children's art classes, summer camps, Art Lovers Book Club, Art Bites gallery talks, guided meditation sessions, and family fun days. Educational outreach extends to Marion, North Liberty, and Hiawatha public libraries. Its technology footprint is modest: a comprehensive website (www.crma.org), email newsletter, social media presence on YouTube and Facebook, and Zoom-based virtual programming for remote audiences.

Revenue is diversified across six streams—admissions, memberships, donations/annual fund, museum store sales, corporate sponsorships, and facility rentals—with corporate backing from Collins Aerospace, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, Transamerica, and several regional charitable foundations. The museum is governed by a Board of Trustees and led by Executive Director Sean Ulmer, supported by a small management team including an Education Director, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Associate Curator, Museum Store Manager, and Membership Coordinator. The operating model is stable and event-driven, with a multi-year exhibition pipeline extending into 2027 and ongoing investment in virtual programming to extend geographic reach beyond the Cedar Rapids market.

Name

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Legal name

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Website

https://crma.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1895

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art is a 1895-founded nonprofit art museum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, operating exhibitions, educational programs, and the historic Grant Wood Studio. It serves families, art enthusiasts, and learners through admissions, memberships, donations, and corporate sponsorships, anchored by the world's largest Grant Wood collection.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF), Historic Preservation & Conservation Planning (BPAHAKAH)

Keywords

• Art museum exhibitions
• Permanent art collections
• Art education programs
• Historic artist studios
• Community cultural programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Cedar Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees: Visitors pay admission fees to enter the museum. Children 5 and under are free. Ticket prices range from $5 for children (6-18) to $10 for adults.
2. Membership Dues: Annual membership providing unlimited free admission, newsletter subscription, 10% museum store discount, invitations to preview receptions, and member-only events.
3. Donations and Annual Fund: Individual donations and annual fund contributions. The website states that more than 80% of the CRMA's budget dollars come from individuals.
4. Museum Store Sales: Retail sales of posters, art books, children's toys, jewelry, pottery, Grant Wood merchandise, and gifts. CRMA members receive 10% discount.
5. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate support for exhibitions, programs, and events from companies like Collins Aerospace, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, Transamerica, and others.
6. Facility Rentals: The museum offers facility rentals for events, with contact information available for tour and rental inquiries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (CRMA) operates a community art museum presenting permanent and rotating exhibitions of American and regionalist art, anchored by the world's largest collection of works by Grant Wood. It also owns and operates the historic Grant Wood Studio, runs a museum store, and offers educational programming for children and adults including art classes, lectures, book clubs, family programs, and guided meditations.

Product overview

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (CRMA) operates as a traditional art museum offering a portfolio of ongoing and temporary exhibitions, educational programming, and visitor services. The core offering consists of exhibitions showcasing its permanent collection, particularly works by Regionalist artists Grant Wood and Marvin Cone, as well as Mauricio Lasansky's print works. The museum also operates the historic Grant Wood Studio as a separate visitor destination. Supporting services include a Museum Store selling art-related merchandise, a Membership Program, Volunteer Program, and Facility Rentals. Educational offerings include Doodlebugs programs for children, Art Bites lectures, Art Lovers Book Club, and summer camps. The museum operates as a single institution with multiple programming streams rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grant Wood: From Farm Boy to American Icon Ongoing exhibition examining how major events in Grant Wood's life are reflected in his art, including his work on houses, studios, and stylistic evolution from American Impressionism to his later harder-edged style.
• Mauricio Lasansky: Master Printmaker Four galleries dedicated to printmaker Mauricio Lasansky, featuring large-scale prints using multiple plates and full color ranges, combining etching, drypoint, aquatint, and engraving techniques.
• Marvin Cone: An American Vision Ongoing single-gallery exhibition providing an overview of Marvin Cone's artistic career, featuring his portraits, Iowa landscape paintings, and subtly-colored abstractions.
• Beyond the Prairie: Midwestern Art from the Collection Ongoing exhibition showcasing works by artists inspired by life in Iowa and surrounding states, featuring both longtime favorites and contemporary artworks.
• Art in Roman Life Ongoing exhibition of more than 50 works including 21 Roman portrait busts, featuring coins, glass vessels, ceramic lamps, and marble sculptures spanning 600 years of Roman artistic production.
• Grant Wood Studio Grant Wood's historic home and studio at 5 Turner Alley, owned and operated by the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, offering docent-guided tours from April through December.
• Museum Store Retail store carrying unique items, original works by local artists, merchandise related to the museum's collection and special exhibitions including posters, art books, jewelry, pottery, and children's items.
• Museum Membership Program Annual membership program offering unlimited free admission, mailed invitations to preview receptions, newsletter subscription, 10% museum store discount, and member-only event access.
• Educational Programs Programs including Doodlebugs art classes for children, guided meditation at Grant Wood Studio, Art Bites talks, Art Lovers Book Club, summer camps, and family fun days.
• Facility Rentals Rental of museum facilities for private events, corporate functions, and special occasions.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Historic Artists' Homes and Studios (National Trust for Historic Preservation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Grant Wood Studio is a member of this program, connecting it to a network of historic artist homes and providing credibility through the National Trust affiliation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Brandywine River Museum of Art: Pennsylvania museum with an artist-specific collection focus (Wyeth family) comparable to CRMA's Grant Wood-centered identity, offering an instructive parallel on how a single-artist collection can anchor visitor traffic.
• Flint Institute of Arts: Michigan community art museum with similar employee scale, a comparable mix of permanent collection galleries, rotating exhibitions, and education programming for regional audiences.
• Joslyn Art Museum: Omaha-based art museum of similar Midwestern scope with a comparable mix of American and European collections, education programming, and corporate-supported free-admission days.
• Springfield Art Museum: Mid-size Midwestern municipal art museum with comparable operating structure, programming, and reliance on local individual and corporate donations.
• Figge Art Museum: Quad Cities regional art museum of similar size and operating model, with comparable collections, education programming, and donor-dependent nonprofit funding structure.
• Des Moines Art Center: Regional Iowa art museum of comparable scale and programming breadth, serving a similar Midwestern audience with permanent collections, temporary exhibitions, and educational programs.

Broad incumbents

• Art Institute of Chicago: Premier Chicago art institution setting the high-end competitive standard for American art and visitor experience within driving distance of Cedar Rapids.
• Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: Kansas City–based broader art museum with a stronger endowment and larger footprint, illustrating the upper bound of Midwestern regional museum scale CRMA could aspire to over time.
• Minneapolis Institute of Art: Larger Twin Cities art museum offering a broader collection and serves as a destination institution in CRMA's broader Upper Midwest catchment.

Regional players

• National Czech & Slovak Museum: Cedar Rapids–based cultural institution; shares the immediate Cedar Rapids visitor market and donor pool, making it a direct competitor for local cultural tourism and philanthropic dollars.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cedar-rapids-museum-of-art

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cedar Rapids Museum of Art