[1][2] The American artist Tobias Schneebaum and Ursula and Gunter Konrad helped in establishing the museum and it officially opened on August 17, 1973.

[4] Over 600 are on display, including over 300 sculptural pieces, ancestor poles, shields, and drums.

Cloud, MN, US area, Bishop emeritus Sowada was also instrumental in founding a second Asmat museum, the American Museum of Asmat Art which opened in 1995 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, where it also appears under the acronyms AMAA and AMAA@UST.

[2] The director of the Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress, as of 2007, has been Eric Sarkol with John Ohoiwirin as assistant.

Building upon a 1968–1974 United Nations funded Asmat wood carving project, the museum hosts an annual woodcarving competition and auction.