The Madison Art Collection (MAC) at James Madison University (JMU) presents an encyclopedic collection of objecs from around the world for the academic, local, and global community to enjoy. At the Lisanby Museum (Festival Conference Center, 1108) we display two exhibitions a year, most often curated by our student interns. As the primary visual arts resource on campus, we offer JMU students internships and work with faculty to organise class visits, tours and ad hoc displays. 

The public gallery space for the collection is the James and Gladys Kemp Lisanby Museum, which opened on January 27, 2012. Named in honor of JMU alumna Gladys Kemp Lisanby (’49) and her husband, the late Retired Rear Admiral James Lisanby, the Lisanby serves as a venue for dynamic exhibitions featuring works of art from the collection. As the only art museum in the Shenandoah Valley, it offers the region access to the arts of the world through dynamic thematic exhibitions. In the interest of lowering barriers to the arts, the Lisanby Museum is free and open to all visitors. 

The MAC is part of the Office for Creative Propulsion (OCP), an administrative unit sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs that exists as part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. In accordance with the mission of Academic Affairs, we foster a distinctive blend of liberal arts, research, and professional education throughout our practices.