The African American Museum was founded in 1974 and since 1979, it has been a private nonprofit institution. On November 13, 1993 it opened a permanent facility at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. The main objective of the Museum is presentation of meaningful experiences for children and adult audiences that would not ordinarily visit a museum. The rich heritage of black art and history is housed in four vaulted galleries and augmented by a research library. Living Black culture is experienced through entertaining, educational programs presented in the theater, studio arts area and classrooms. The Museum's permanent collections include African art; African American fine art; magazine, historical, political and community archives; and one of the largest folk art collections in the country. It is the only museum in the Southwestern United States devoted to the preservation and display of African American artistic, cultural and historical materials, by both well-known and beginning artists.