I. Mission Statement for the Exhibition Program: The Van Every/Smith Galleries play a fundamental role in the pedagogical life of Davidson College. The Galleries provide a challenging forum for the presentation, interpretation, and discussion of primarily contemporary artworks in all media for students and members of the Davidson community, as well as for national and international visitors to the campus. An on-going series of challenging exhibitions and lectures by visiting artists and scholars nurture individual thinking, develop visual literacy, and inspire a lifelong commitment to the arts.

II. Mission Statement for the Permanent Art Collection: The Permanent Art Collection serves as a research center by offering students and members of the Davidson community an opportunity to interact with more than 2,700 works of art that span five centuries. Works from the Permanent Art Collection are also loaned to other regional, national, and international art institutions for inclusion in thematic exhibitions and/or individual retrospectives.