Did you know that UAMA has an archive? Established in 2007, our Archive of Visual Arts (AVA) is an offsite facility that holds collections representing twelve contemporary artists of the Southwest.
The AVA collections are distinct from those here at the museum as they include primary source materials like correspondence, scrapbooks, sketchbooks, photographs, media, maps, designs and ephemeral records, in addition to original artistic works. These materials provide greater context for the careers of artists and give evidence of historical events beyond the scope of their work.
This gallery showcases the artistic talent of three artists represented at the AVA: renowned space and aviation artist Robert McCall, master portraitist Frances O’Brien and one of our living artists — Moira Geoffrion. The selected materials and works, spanning multiple disciplines and areas of study, demonstrate the value of the AVA’s collections in the broader landscape of history, as well as how they serve our mission as an academic institution of research and scholarship.
The exhibits showcased here were assembled by UAMA Archivist Sara Swayden for the 2026 U of A Museum Day, a campus-wide initiative that the AVA has participated in since the event’s inception in 2024.
