The IMA Alliance Records document the philanthropic efforts of the Alliance of the Indianapolis Museum of Art over the course of more than 50 years, through multiple retail initiatives, events like the Fine Arts Ball, and other activities. As a collection of original records produced by the Alliance, it chronicles the history and inner-workings of one of the most prolific fundraising groups in the United States. The collection has been organized into eight series described below.

The IMA Asian Art Society (AAS) Records document the efforts of the AAS to help grow the IMA’s Asian art collection through donations and funding acquisitions. It also details the Society’s efforts to interest and educate members and the public about Asian art through lectures, speakers, and trips.

The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) records document the group ’s efforts to bring greater awareness and interest to contemporary art since the group’s founding in 1962. CAS members were often invited to travel to art museums and galleries across the U.S. and abroad. Member funds were used to procure contemporary art acquisitions. CAS frequently hosts lecturers, artists, and other speakers, as well as arranging local visits to art museums and artist studios.
Due to the small amount of material in this collection it has not been divided into series. Due to privacy concerns, half of the collection is restricted to access by IMA staff and members of the Contemporary Art Society at the discretion of the archivist. The detailed box inventory below indicates which materials are open and which are closed. Instead, like materials were grouped together and then arranged chronologically. In Box 1 you will find materials related to ephemera, trips, lecture invites and reminders, affiliate orientation manual, and membership materials. Housed in the second box are member lists, directories, dues statements, acquisitions voting, and Resource Committee agendas. You will also find the information, evaluations, or materials CAS created with the help of Trustee Leadership Development in 1999. During that time, CAS re-evaluated their mission statement, mailed out member surveys, and held meetings to decide what they wanted for their organization’s future.
This collection includes thirteen binders. The first twelve are the binders of past presidents of CAS and are arranged chronologically by president. Binder 13 includes material related to membership. The binders contain a variety of minutes, correspondence, notes, study group plans, speaker invites, schedule of events, financial records, etc. Also included may be trip planning notes, member lists, or news clippings.