FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2008
IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
154 Institutions
in 39 States Awarded Museums for America Grants;
16.9 Million Dollars Distributed
Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice, Director of the
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), announced
today the 154 recipients of Museums for America (MFA)
grants, totaling 16.9 million dollars. The largest museum
grant program administered by IMLS, MFA grants support
institutions interested in strengthening their services
in the following areas: engaging communities (education,
exhibitions, and interpretation); building institutional
capacity (management, policy, and training); and collections
stewardship. Click
here to learn more about the 2008 MFA recipients.
“As repositories of our nation’s
treasures and our nation’s history, museums are
positioned to play an integral role in the education of
their communities,” said Dr. Radice. “Museums
for America grants support projects and ongoing activities
that build museums’ capacities and help these institutions
serve their diverse constituencies to the best of their
abilities.”
This year, MFA funds will go to botanical
gardens, historic homes, art museums, and other deserving
institutions across the country, and will be used for
a variety of projects, including planning, programming,
and ongoing museum work, such as updating technology and
purchasing new equipment. Projects include:
- The development of a youth program at the
UC Botanical Garden, University of California in Berkeley,
CA. The botanical garden will develop educational materials
and interpretive signs for its Crops of the World garden
and two school gardens, and the program will reach elementary
school children; teachers, students, and parents at
the school garden Family Days; and all garden visitors.
- The continuation of the Rapid Imaging Project
(RIP) at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
RIP is an important component of a massive digitization
program recently initiated at the museum that allows
for the rapid production of images for digital use.
This effort will create a vast resource of images, which
can be used in publications, presentations, and materials
for student, teacher, and family programs.
- The comprehensive inventory of the museum
collections at the Maine Historical Society in Portland,
ME. The collections serve as the foundation for core
activities across the institution, and the inventory
will address inconsistencies in the museum catalog and
allow the society to move forward in its effort to adopt
collections management practices that meet or exceed
museum standards.
- The creation of a strategic framework for
the Nature Center Master Plan Development and Organizational
Training program at the Prairie Ecology Bus Center,
Lakefield, MN. This master plan will guide the development
of a new regional nature center and strengthen the existing
mobile nature center programs to complement and enhance
the site facility.
- The showcasing of visual artists, composers,
lyricists, and poets at Wave Hill in Bronx, NY, as part
of the 400th Anniversary of the Hudson River exploration
by Henry Hudson. The garden’s project includes
an installation relating to the river and an exhibition
presenting works that explore the life of Native Americans
along the Hudson River, and will educate visitors about
the Hudson River from artistic, environmental, and historical
perspectives.
- The development of a comprehensive interpretive
plan and preliminary exhibit design for Ferry Farm and
Kenmore by the George Washington Fredericksburg Foundation,
Fredericksburg, VA. The plan will interpret Kenmore,
the home of Fielding and Betty Washington Lewis, and
Ferry Farm, where George Washington grew up.
- The design of the new permanent exhibit, The
Aleutian Islands: Crossroads of the North Pacific, at
the Museum of the Aleutians, Unalaska, AK. The new displays
will interpret the art, culture, and heritage of the
Unangan/Aleut people who have inhabited the Aleutian
Islands continuously for the past 10,000 years. By building
new audiences, expanding educational programs, and increasing
opportunities for support, this project will strengthen
the museum's capacity to tell a comprehensive history
of the Aleutian Islands.
The next deadline for the Museums for America
program is November 1, 2008. Click
here for more information.
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