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About

Our Mission

The mission of University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum is to promote literacy and enrich the lives of all people through the art of picture books.

What We Do

University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum celebrates the original art of picture books using education, exhibits, events and artist visits.

Galleries

The Museum’s six galleries exhibit more than 300 works of art at any time. A plaque for each piece notes the names of the artist, the title of the book, the date of the creation, the media the artist used and the sponsor.

Location

University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum is located in the Virginia B. Gardner Fine Arts Pavilion.
For directions use 201 College Street, Findlay, OH 45840.

ABOUT US

Explore the Art within the Story.

The University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum celebrates the original art of picture books using education, exhibits, events and artist visits. Giving world-renowned artists a platform to share their creative process, the Museum invites people to explore the art within the story through its programs for children, adults and educators. The Museum is home to more than 18,000 pieces of artwork from picture books, making it the largest and most diverse collection of picture book art in the world.

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Our History

In 1982, the late Jerry Mallett, Ed.D., former professor of education at Findlay College, proposed the idea to build a museum dedicated to the art of picture books. With four pieces of art provided through a gift from the late Dr. August ‘41 and Aleda Mazza ‘41, the collection began. The Mazza Museum at the University of Findlay, originally housed in the basement of Shafer Library, was formally dedicated on Jan. 23, 1983.

Dr. Jerry J. Mallett Institute for Educational Programming

The Dr. Jerry J. Mallett Institute for Educational Programming is named for the Museum’s founding director, Dr. Jerry J. Mallett, and is the formal education division of the Mazza Museum.
Educational programming presented by the Institute includes: Mazza’s Summer and Fall Weekend Conferences for adults, Tales for Tots, Funday Sunday, Young Artist Workshop, Mazza Children’s Art Exhibit, Mazza School Extension Program, Mazza Study Tour, professional development, and the Havens Resource Center.
The Institute was established with a gift by Michael and Anne Mallett and their children.
Dr. Mallett devoted his life’s work to teaching children to read and promoting an appreciation of language arts, children’s literature and children’s book illustration.
ABOUT

Our Vision

Appreciating Art

Mazza celebrates the art of the world-class artists and authors who bring books to life, giving them a platform to share their creative process and a permanent home for the preservation and care of their contributions to their craft. To experience the Museum is to develop an understanding of how artists use pictures to illustrate the words and meaning of a story. Visitors see every aspect of the process from the first sketches to the final original artwork that became part of the book.

Inspiring a Passion

Mazza nourishes and inspires in people of all ages an enthusiasm for books and art and how they impact life. By visiting Mazza, children experience a cultural interaction they can appreciate. The picture books the Museum highlights can be a child’s first step toward a lifelong love of reading. These beautiful illustrations capture the imaginations of young readers as they learn to recognize the meaning behind the images as well as to read and understanding language.

Supporting Educators

The Mazza Museum provides educators with the tools to inspire excitement for reading in the classroom and beyond. Acting as a resource, the Museum offers workshops, research materials, teaching aids and story kits that assist with the learning process. At Mazza conferences, educators have the opportunity to hear stories directly from Mazza artists about their inspirations and enjoy sessions on literature, education, writing, illustration and behind the scenes at the Museum.