Kudos Affiliates! July 2018

Congratulations to these Affiliates on their recent accomplishments! Do you have a kudos to share? Please send potential kudos to Aaron Glavas, GlavasC@si.edu.

Funding

In pursuit of its commitment to advance the creative capacity of people and communities across the nation, the National Endowment for the Arts  (NEA) announced its second round of funding for Art Works, the NEA’s principal grants program, for fiscal year 2018. The funding includes the following Affiliate initiatives:

The Connecticut Historical Society (Hartford, CT)  will receive $30,000 to support the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP) and related activities in documenting folklife. The Center will also receive $25,000 to support the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program.

The Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, Inc., on behalf of High Museum of Art, (Atlanta, GA) will receive $65,000 to support the exhibition and an accompanying catalog, Putting Something Over Something Else: Romare Bearden’s Profile Series.

The Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, MI), as part of  the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) will receive $20,000 to support artist residencies and associated community engagement activities at the Museum.

National Jazz Museum in Harlem (New York, NY) will receive $20,000 to support the exhibit From Ragtime to Harlem Stride: James P. Johnson and the Emergence of Recording Technology.

Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, Inc. (Queens, NY) will receive $60,000 to support a series of global music, dance, theater, and multidisciplinary performances held at Flushing Town Hall.

Heritage Farm Foundation, on behalf of Heritage Farm Museum & Village (Huntington, WV), will receive $75,000 to support a cultural district master plan in Huntington.

Springfield Museums (Springfield, MA)  has received a $200,000 grant from Massachusetts Cultural Council to help implement upgrades to the Springfield Science Museum’s bathrooms, lighting and carpeting.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker with the Cat in the Hat. The Governor was on a visit to announce the $200,000 grant.

NASA’s Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) announced that the Cosmosphere (Hutchinson, KS) was one of three projects selected from 43 submissions to receive funding. The funded project, Apollo Redux, will incorporate historic mission control consoles from Johnson Space Center with traveling interactive educational exhibits and curriculum. The $650,000 grant will cover the cost of refurbishing the consoles, creating the educational components, and designing the exhibits.

Inasmuch Foundation has announced the distribution of $4.154 million in grants to 47 organizations serving Oklahoma communities including $250,000 to the Stafford Air and Space Museum (Weatherford, OK) for the capital campaign for museum expansion.

The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium (Dubuque, IA) has received a $20,000 grant from The Dubuque Racing Association for a new educational outreach vehicle to take informational learning to the community outside the organization. In particular, it will allow families, schools and the general public to engage with sea life from the Mississippi River Delta and Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced more than $256 million in approved funding to rebuild critical national park infrastructure.  Lowell National Historical Park (Lowell, MA) received $4,177,000 for the upgrade and replacement of windows at the Boott Mill Museum.

Leadership

Longtime Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Cody, WY) Chief Executive Officer Bruce Eldredge announced his retirement. The museum’s board of trustees is conducting a nationwide search to choose a replacement. Eldredge will remain in his position until a new director has been chosen. He plans to relocate to the Seattle area to spend more time with family members there.

Timothy P. McGrane is leaving his position as Executive Director of the Blackhawk Museum (Danville, CA). McGrane has accepted a new position as CEO of SCRAMP (Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula) and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

Kudos Affiliates! June 2018

Congratulations to these Affiliates on their recent accomplishments! Do you have a kudos to share? Please send potential kudos to Aaron Glavas, GlavasC@si.edu.

Funding

Conner Prairie (Fishers, Indiana) announced a partnership with Ritz Charles to invest approximately $3 million to renovate and expand Eli Lilly’s historic Chinese House. Support for the project includes a $500,000 pledge from Jay and Nancy Ricker, the founders of Ricker Oil Company, Inc., and a $500,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc.

Rhode Island Council for the Humanities announced a total of $136,429 in new grants to 14 humanities initiatives across the state including the Rhode Island Historical Society (Providence). The Society received a $12,000 Documentary Films grant to support films that preserve Rhode Island’s stories and bring its history to life.  The funding goes towards the development of the film Triple Decker, A New England Love Story.

DaVinci at New Mexico Museum of Natural History and ScienceThe New Mexico Humanities Council awarded a $5,000 grant to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science to support its series of education programs, Da Vinci Dialogues. The Dialogues consist of public lectures, panel discussions, and workshops that illustrate the many facets of Da Vinci’s genius as an artist, inventor, and scientist.

Awards and Recognition

Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) has named the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium (Dubuque, Iowa) the “Silos & Smokestacks People’s Site of the Year.”

During the Pennsylvania Museums Annual Statewide Museum Conference, the winners of statewide Institutional Achievement Awards were announced including two Senator John Heinz History Center sites. Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village was recognized for its newest educational curriculum, First Peoples: Archaeology at the Meadowcroft Rockshelter. The Fort Pitt Museum at Point State Park, Downtown, was recognized for its newest exhibition, From Maps to Mermaids: Carved Powder Horns in Early America.

Leadership Changes

W. James Burns has been named the new executive director of the Arizona Historical Society (Phoenix, Arizona). Dr. Burns comes to the Arizona Historical Society from the University of Arizona, where he served as Director of the Center for Creative Photography and the University of Arizona Museum of Art.

W. James Burns, Ph.D., Executive Director, Arizona Historical Society, Phoenix, AZ