For Immediate Release
January 21, 2000

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS LAUNCHES WEB SITE

Today, the American Federation of Arts (AFA) announced the premiere of its
Web site at www.afaweb.org.   In addition to presenting the programs and
activities of the AFA, the illustrated site provides a wealth of on-line
educational opportunities for students and teachers, families, museum
professionals, researchers, art enthusiasts, and Internet users around the
world.

According to Serena Rattazzi, director of the AFA, "The Web, with its
extraordinary reach and ever-expanding popular appeal, is an ideal medium
for the AFA, an organization established to enrich the public's appreciation
and understanding of art.  While AFA exhibitions and programs already engage
a broad audience, the information on the site-notably the cache of
interpretive materials-is available to be explored any time, by anyone,
anywhere in the world.  It is our expectation that the site will encourage
Internet users to visit our member museums and experience first-hand the AFA
exhibitions they present and their collections."

The home page provides a concise navigation bar featuring links to
exhibitions, education, programs, services, membership, and news sections,
as well as contact and search features. Visitors may email contacts directly
to request more information and the search button allows visitors to
navigate the site efficiently.  By clicking about AFA, a general
introduction to the organization appears, with links to the sections.

Each exhibition (to date there are 31 in development and six touring North
America) has an illustrated page on the site that includes exhibition
highlights, the guest curator, tour itinerary (if fully booked), sample
images, and, if applicable, information about the catalogue accompanying the
exhibition and sponsorship credit lines.

For exhibitions currently on tour, there are links to teacher packets,
family guides, and
brochures developed by the AFA.  Visitors may download materials for
personal edification and
enjoyment, research, classroom use, or to prepare for a museum visit.  The
presentation of
educational components on this Web site is made possible with funds provided
by The Gertrude E.
Skelly Charitable Foundation.

The programs section provides details about the Directors Forum, held
annually in New York City in November for directors of small and
medium-sized art museums.  Transcripts from previous Directors Forums are
available and requests for registration information for November 2000 may be
made on-line.

The site also provides information on the benefits of AFA membership for
individuals, institutions (art museums), corporations, and foundations.
Services available to the general public (such as room rentals on the parlor
floor of AFA's elegantly appointed headquarters), and exclusively to museum
members (low-cost fine art insurance and transportation, for example) and
individual members (excursions to the art capitals of the world), are
listed.

The news section features a grid of exhibition tours, including dates and
venues, along with press releases, announcements, and general background on
the AFA.   Feature articles from recent issues of Memo to Members, the
newsletter of the AFA, are also posted.

The site was designed by John McGrath of Red 5 Media, New York.

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS
The AFA is the nation's oldest and most comprehensive non-profit art museum
service organization.  The AFA provides its more than 550 member
institutions with traveling art exhibitions and educational, professional,
and technical support programs developed in collaboration with the museum
community.  Through these programs, the AFA seeks to strengthen the ability
of museums to enrich the public's experience and understanding of art. For
further information, please contact:

Lisbeth Mark or Stephanie Ruggiero, Communications Department
The American Federation of Arts

tel. 212-988-7700
fax 212-861-2487
e-mail [log in to unmask]
Please visit our Web site at www.afaweb.org

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