The Hispanic Society Museum and Library (detail)
Courtesy of the Hispanic Society Museum and Library
The Hispanic Society Museum and Library
MUSEUM AND LIBRARY
NEW YORK, NY
2025–2026
Collection, Exhibition, and Program-Driven Transformation
Founded in 1904, the Hispanic Society Museum and Library is—outside of Spain—the largest and most comprehensive repository of works related to the culture of countries where Spanish and Portuguese have been predominant spoken languages. The institution is in the midst of implementing a multiphase renovation to modernize its campus and, over the last decade, has been expanding its collections and programming and furthering its national and international reach through traveling exhibitions.
Funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation, AKCP’s team has been working closely with the Hispanic Society Museum and Library staff and Board to identify imperatives and challenges to transforming the institution’s reach and impact. The work will serve as a critical foundation and long-term roadmap for the transformation of mission-based activities.
The team conducted comprehensive internal and external research to underpin a transformation framework, establishing goals and values, identifying stakeholders and target audiences, and detailing implementation strategies across public engagement, collection assessment, and programming. The project will also include phasing and order-of-magnitude budget considerations, aligning this transformation with planned capital upgrades.
The multidisciplinary approach to this project seeks to align programming, collections, market position, and audience development goals while also considering the impacts on operations, space use, brand, and financials. This integrated perspective is the calling card of AKCP’s work.
