Our Mission
Massachusetts Design, Art, and Technology Institute (DATMA) presents impactful contemporary art at the intersection of design, art, and technology, combined with related community learning experiences, to spark creativity, collaboration, and economic innovation in the SouthCoast region and beyond.
Established in 2016 and launched in 2018, the Massachusetts Design Art & Technology Institute (DATMA) derived from an innovative idea to create an “institute without walls” that would bring free, accessible, arts programming to all ages, backgrounds, and socioeconomic levels of the SouthCoast region. DATMA is committed to bringing world-renowned art, design, and technology exhibitions, programs, and initiatives to the visitors and citizens of New Bedford and the region, identified as one of the Commonwealth’s most creative economies by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. As an exhibitor of art in public spaces, DATMA collaborates with the business and education sectors of the region to expand public awareness, bringing new cultural assets into the mix.
We are proud to participate in Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program in collaboration with the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Department of Public Health’s WIC Nutrition Program, the Massachusetts Health Connector, and hundreds of organizations by making cultural programming accessible to those for whom cost is a participation barrier.
Per DATMA’s mission, all activities are free and designed for all-ages. See the complete list of participating organizations offering EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare discounts.
Download DATMA’s 2024 Annual Report.
“DATMA has brought new energy to the city of New Bedford and encouraged us all to think bigger about the possibility of artistic collaboration. Large, engaging and visionary installations remake the physical landscape and offer a way to be engaged with the arts and humanities in the midst of this pandemic. It is work which sustains us in the present and helps us move forward together.”
-Lee Heald, former Director of AHA! New Bedford’s Art, History, Architecture monthly art walk
In a Changing World, Art & Design must speak through TECHNOLOGY and Technology must converse with ART & DESIGN. DATMA produces dynamic programs that project what the SouthCoast is and has been—and what it can become.
DATMA is a 501(c)(3), which means we rely on the support of foundations, businesses, and individuals like you! No gift is too small. For more information on making a gift, call 774.264.3696.
