FITCHBURG — The Fitchburg Art Museum announced earlier this month that it is now free admission for all.

While the museum first opened its doors to the public on April 17, 1929, it began in 1925 through Eleanor Norcross’s vision, a local artist who donated her collection and funds. Originally located in the historic Buckley High School building, later the city library, the museum eventually moved to its current location at 185 Elm St. where it has grown to become a major cultural institution in Central Massachusetts.

According to a press release, FAM’s free admission program — the museum’s centennial gift to the community — expands accessibility and welcomes all those who support the museum every single day. After all, there would be no Fitchburg Art Museum without the City of Fitchburg and its residents, its board of trustees and community advisors, museum members, faithful donors, artists and everyone else who is part of the “FAMily,” as they say.

“The Fitchburg Art Museum’s new free admission policy is based on the strongly held belief that a community-oriented art museum should work to remove as many barriers as possible between people and our mission and programs, just like public libraries,” said longtime FAM Director Nick Capasso. “When we say, ‘FAM is for everyone,’ we need to mean it in practice.”

On Saturday, Feb. 21, museum visitors can catch the opening of the second exhibition honoring FAM’s centennial, “Kaleidoscope: 100 Years of Collecting for Our Community.”

In the meantime, visitors can see the debut centennial show, “Festival: A Celebration of African Art” as well as Tara Sellios’s exhibit “Ask Now the Beasts.”

According to the release “Festival” demonstrates both the breadth of FAM’s permanent collection and the diversity of cultures and contexts across the African continent.

Sellios’s exhibition of photographs highlights the beauty of the grotesque with still-life vignettes composed of organic materials including animal bones, insect specimens and dried flowers, which she photographs using a large format camera.

Museum hours are Wednesday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and FAM at Night — previously Free First Thursdays — on Thursdays from noon to 7 p.m., the hours of which are subject to change. For the most up-to-date hours and more information visit fitchburgartmuseum.org.