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Musical Instrument Museum
The Musical Instrument Museum was founded in 2010 by Robert J. Ulrich, the former chairman and CEO of Target Corporation. Ulrich conceived the museum after...
Musical Instrument Museum
The Musical Instrument Museum was founded in 2010 by Robert J. Ulrich, the former chairman and CEO of Target Corporation. Ulrich conceived the museum after meeting Marc L. Felix, an international authority on African art, and seeing a similar institution in Brussels. He directed his post-retail fortune into creating a single-campus cultural asset in Phoenix, Arizona that now spans 200,000 square feet—an institution shaped by Ulrich's conviction that music is universal. MIM's collection spans over 15,000 instruments and artifacts drawn from more than 200 countries and territories. The museum operates across five permanent geographic galleries, broadly covering Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, with instruments displayed alongside high-definition video of local performances. Specific holdings include instruments linked to Prince, Madonna, and John Lennon, as well as a 16th-century Amati violin. The campus also houses the MIM Music Theater, a 300-seat venue hosting roughly 200 concerts annually from global artists, and an African Art collection reflecting Felix's longstanding collecting practice. The museum's board is chaired by Robert G. Weston Jr., CFO of Alliance Residential Company, with UnitedHealth Group founder Richard T. Burke serving as vice chairman. The institution is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and holds membership in CIMCIM, the International Council of Museums committee for musical instrument collections. September 2024: The museum celebrated its 14th anniversary and reported cumulative guest visits exceeding 3 million since opening (per MIM, September 2024). The museum's structural differentiator is its resolute focus on the global instrument as a primary cultural artifact—a posture closer to the British Museum's encyclopedism than to the performing-arts programming of a symphony hall. Its operating model does not rely on borrowed blockbuster exhibitions, instead drawing audiences through a permanent collection assembled via Ulrich's initial capital commitment and ongoing acquisitions supported by the board's multi-industry wealth base.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
2010
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Phoenix
Corporate office
4725 E. Mayo Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85050, United States
Principals
Robert J. Ulrich
Founder
Richard T. Burke
Vice Chairman of the Board
Robert G. Weston Jr.
Chairman of the Board
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the Musical Instrument Museum's collection and what is its governance structure?
The collection is held by the Musical Instrument Museum Foundation, a non-profit entity governed by a board chaired by Robert G. Weston Jr. of Alliance Residential Company. Founder Robert J. Ulrich, the former CEO of Target, remains a central figure in the museum's vision, while UnitedHealth Group founder Richard T. Burke serves as vice chairman. The institution is independently governed and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, placing it among a small subset of US museums meeting that standard.
How is the museum's acquisition strategy funded without a public endowment disclosure?
MIM does not publicly disclose an endowment figure. Its 2010 launch was funded entirely through private benefaction led by Robert Ulrich, and ongoing acquisitions appear to draw on contributions from the founder and board-level donors rather than a publicly invested endowment pool. The museum's revenue model relies on admissions, concert ticket sales, private event rentals, and individual philanthropy rather than a disclosed investment portfolio.
Does the museum partner with external collectors or institutions for its exhibitions?
MIM's core galleries are composed almost entirely of permanently owned instruments, a departure from museums that cycle temporary loan exhibitions. The museum does collaborate internationally through its membership in CIMCIM, the International Council of Museums committee for musical instrument collections, but the collection itself is not dependent on rotating loans from other institutions.
What is Marc L. Felix's role in the institution besides co-originating the concept?
Felix is an internationally recognized expert on African art whose collection helped seed the museum's vision. His relationship with Ulrich directly catalyzed the museum's founding, and an African Art collection housed at MIM reflects his collecting influence, but his current operational role is not publicly detailed beyond being identified as a co-originator of the concept.
How does the MIM Music Theater function within the museum's broader asset strategy?
The 300-seat MIM Music Theater operates as a revenue-generating performance venue hosting roughly 200 concerts annually, featuring artists from across the global music spectrum. It serves to activate the museum's brand of cultural immersion beyond the static galleries, creating a direct audience experience that reinforces the institution's mission while contributing to operating income.
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