Connecticut
Greenwich Historical Society has received a $389,800 STEAP (Small Town Economic Assistance Program) grant from the State of Connecticut to assist with the completion of site improvements and walkways for the Greenwich Historical Society's expanded campus at its Bush-Holley House site. The program funds economic development, community conservation and quality-of-life capital projects because "preserving the historical integrity and beauty of our small towns is vital to our economy and quality of life," according to the Office of Policy and Management. This funding from the Connecticut State Bond Commission will complete the Greenwich Historical Society's historic Bush-Holley Campus with landscape plantings, pathways, accessible ramps and walks, and restored landscape features as well as drainage, slope and embankment protection. Greenwich Historical Society has also unveiled and new log and graphic updates in everything from its newsletters to its website, invitations and development materials. The final design by Whirlwind Creative represents the old, the new and the future with a customized font highlighted in "Greenwich Green."
From the left: Scott Wands, Manager, Grants & Programs, CT Humanities; State Representative Gail Lavielle, Susan Gilgore, LMMM Executive Director, State Representative Terrie Wood, Jason Mancini, Executive Director, CT Humanities, Patsy Brescia, LMMM Chairman of the Board, Senator Bob Duff, and State Representative Chris Perone. Sarah Grote Photography.
The Connecticut Humanities has awarded $20,000 to the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum for a Public Presentation Grant in support of the planning of the new exhibit, Bulls of Wall Street: High Finance, Power and Social Change in Victorian America. The exhibition, curated by Kathleen Craughwell-Varda, will explore the financial world of LeGrand Lockwood and his illustrious peers-Vanderbilt, Gould and Fisk-and the social and economic similarities and differences between Gilded Age American Finance and today's. The exhibition will also examine the struggles and successes of minorities on Victorian era Wall Street, such as black Americans and women, who may have redefined the course of history and American culture.
Ireland's Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University sent 50 pieces from its permanent collection to Ireland for the exhibition Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger. The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, opened the exhibition on March 7, 2018, at Dublin Castle. During the show's four month run at the Coach House, Dublin Castle, it attracted over 58,000 visitors. The exhibition moves to Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen, from July 20th to October 13th and Cultúrlann Ui Chanáin, Derry, from January 18th to March 16th, 2019. In addition to the exhibition, the museum has collaborated with cultural institutions throughout Ireland on a variety of public programming, worked with Ireland's Department of Education to make related educational materials available to teachers and students, and created a children's film on the subject of the Famine. This major undertaking aims to strengthen the deep cultural connection between Ireland and its diaspora by showcasing the world's largest collection of Great Hunger-related art never before exhibited on Irish soil.
Mystic Seaport has a new brand identity, with the introduction of the addition of Museum to its name and a redesigned logo, website, and large-scale ad campaign. The launch is a key element of the museum's strategic plan to expand the reach and relevance of the museum by positioning itself as a more modern and relevant cultural center that strives to inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience. The opening of the Thompson Exhibition Building in 2016 signified the first step in that direction and will showcase the recently launched Era of Exhibitions programs. The organization's new logo, in the color nautical orange, presents a sharp, bold visual identity in a shape that references the planks of a ship with the cascade of stacked vertical text representing waves approaching shore. Mystic Seaport Museum's new tagline, "Radical Craft. Get Into It." will anchor its new advertising campaign debuting this month. It is an action-oriented statement that shines the light on the museum as a place that celebrates immersive experiences, craft and the evolution of seafaring innovation that was radical in its time. The ad campaign will feature the outstanding imagery created by the museum's photography staff.
Mystic Seaport Museum announced it has received a $735,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to support the curation and development of three new collections installations and related programming. These projects will provide new perspectives on the art and ensure the continued preservation and refinement of the collections while also promoting public access. Through this initiative, the museum will reimagine the artistic merit and educational potential of its permanent collections of decorative, folk, and self-taught art. These objects - not always considered as works of art and substantially hidden from public view - will be placed on display so they can be appreciated and studied afresh through the eyes of a new generation of scholars, artists, and curators.
The Fairfield University Art Museum has been awarded a Kress Interpretative Fellowship by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. This grant, which carries a stipend of $30,000, will enable the museum to hire a Fellow for the upcoming academic year to work on curatorial and education projects, including collections-based interpretive print and digital publications, electronic resources, collections research and cataloguing, gallery didactics, docent training, and lecturing and teaching from original works of art in the galleries, including ten paintings in the collection given by the Kress Foundation.
The Fairfield University Art Museum recently announced a major gift of the James M. Reed Print Collection. Assembled over several decades by artist, collector and Master Printer James Reed, the collection, which will be given in its entirety, consists of over 1,500 prints spanning the 16th through the early 21st centuries. The great strength of the Reed collection is 19th-century French etching and lithography; Géricault, Delacroix, Daumier, Manet, Redon, and Fantin-Latour are among the major artists of the period represented. Over 30 old master prints dating from the 16th-18th centuries are also included. The second concentration of the collection is a significant group of over 50 German Expressionist prints, including woodcuts and lithographs by Emil Nolde, Ernst Kirchner, and Max Beckmann among others. James Reed has also collected modern prints by iconic names including Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, and Jim Dine, as well as lithographs, etchings and woodcuts by established contemporary printmakers, many of whom he has collaborated with as Master Printer at Milestone Graphics, the fine printmaking studio he owns and directs and which is an important institution for artists working in Connecticut and the Northeast. This part of the collection includes examples of Mr. Reed's own work as an artist and printmaker, which is represented in more than 20 public collections around the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library. The modern and contemporary prints in the James M. Reed Print Collection are promised to the museum as a bequest.
The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum Education and Visitor Center.
The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum is pleased to announce a successful $8 million capital campaign to fund a 9,200-sq.-ft. Education and Visitor Center. To help pay expenses for future operations, $3.5 million has been set aside for endowment. Donations have been received from a wide variety of sources, including individuals, corporations, foundations, and a generous contribution from the State of Connecticut of $1.7 million which recognizes the cultural importance of the museum. The groundbreaking is scheduled for summer 2018 and the building shell is to be competed in 2019. The WDS Museum was also just awarded a generous planning grant for $25,000 from Connecticut Humanities to help formulate a new exhibition and orientation program to be a highlight of the new Education and Visitor Center.
Maine
Pejepscot Historical Society (PHS) was named Readers’ Choice “Best Historical Society” in Down East magazine’s annual Best of Maine issue (July). Readers’ Choice nominees are identified and voted on by thousands of Down East readers each year.
Seal Cove Auto Museum has received the 2018 Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History, for the 2016-2017 Auto Wars: Then & Now exhibit. The AASLH Leadership in History Award, now in its 73rd year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. The Seal Cove Auto Museum's award is one of only forty-four national awards conferred by AASLH this year honoring people, projects, exhibits, and publications. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history. 
Christine Bosse of Bangor Savings Bank (center) presents a check to Museum L-A staff Kate Webber, Director of Education (left) and Rachel Desgrosseilliers, Executive Director (right).
Museum L-A recently received a $2,500 gift from Bangor Savings Bank to support Maine Innovation Expo that was held on May 19th. Nearly 700 people attended the free community event. The Maine Innovation Expo showed that anyone can be an innovator by providing the inspiration and resources for attendees of all ages who want to try something new or even take the next step in their education and career. Exhibitors included businesses, schools, artists, youth groups, entrepreneurs, and organizations doing remarkable work in Maine.
Hiram Historical Society has received a grant of $1000 from the Maine State Archives Historical Collections Grant Program, funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, to convert 18 audio tapes to CD MP3 and 50 VHS video tapes to DVD MP4. Oral History and Folklife Research, Inc., Augusta, Maine, will do the conversion.
The Davis Family Foundation awarded Hiram Historical Society a grant of $16,214 to install a new stair lift at Great Ossipee Museum to replace the old broken lift that was not repairable. The old lift consisted of two straight lifts – one to the mezzanine landing and a second lift to the second floor – which required a user to get out and walk to the other lift. The new stair lift – Helix Curved Stair Lift by Harmar – is one continuous lift that curves around the mezzanine landing and delivers users directly to the top or bottom. It can also be used to carry goods up and down stairs by use of remotes kept on each floor. Planning and installation was done by Black Bear Medical of Portland. It was professional and smooth.
New Hampshire
Chinburg Properties recently donated $2,500 to enable the American Independence Museum to provide free admission to veterans and their families.
The Children's Museum of New Hampshire will receive $100,000 in use tax credit funds from the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority to expand programming that engages families with hands-on discovery and learning by adding new outdoor space and enhancing an interior classroom. The project will contribute to downtown revitalization, create economic impact and increase community access to programs and services.
The Manchester Rotary Club, which is celebrating a century of service to the community, recently announced a $15,000 grant to the Manchester Historic Association and Millyard Museum. The grant money will cover bus rentals and the cost of two educational programs at the Millyard Museum, which was recently named "Best Educational Activity for Kids in New Hampshire" by AmericanTowns Media.
Massachusetts
Historical Society of Old Yarmouth (HSOY) recently rebuilt the back of the Captain Bangs Hallet House Museum with a CPA grant from the Town of Yarmouth, MA. In 2018 they also received a CPA grant and redid their archival room and storage area and created more space at the Captain Bangs Hallet House Museum. They recently redesigned their Trail Map for their 50 acres of walking trails, designed by Trustee Robert Kelley and artwork by Trustee Kelly Morton. Approximately 1/3 of HSOY's photographic collection (3900 total) has been catalogued and digitized and is available online through Digital Commonwealth and the Boston Public Library. The rest of the collection will be digitized in 2018.
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association (PVMA) Memorial Hall Museum "Impressions from a Lost World" multi-faceted and multi-year project won a "Leadership in History" award from the American Association for State and Local History: ". . . superior and innovative achievements, the Leadership in History Award winners serve as models and inspirations for others in the field."
In 2017 the Museum of Russian Icons received a $7,500 grant from Mass Humanities to revise and enhance the Museum's audio guide and app content. The grant has allowed the museum to research and write new content about the collection and funded professional fees for voice talent, sound editing, and translation to Russian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Wendy Salmond, Professor of Art and Art History at Chapman University in California and a specialist in Russian art, served as the humanities scholar advisor to the project. While some of the current audio content will be retained, the grant allowed the museum to expand the audio guide and provide a greater depth of information. The new audio tours are now available free of charge to all visitors.
Norman Rockwell Museum Director Laurie Norton Moffatt announced that Shuffleton's Barbershop, Rockwell's acclaimed 1950 painting recently acquired by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, will go on view at the Rockwell Museum beginning June 9. The painting, acknowledged by many as a masterpiece, joins the Museum's landmark exhibition Keepers of the Flame: Parrish, Wyeth, Rockwell, and the Narrative Tradition, on view through October 28, 2018. It will then remain on view at the museum in a series of themed presentations. With its acquisition of Shuffleton's Barbershop, the Lucas Museum announced a cross-country partnership whereby the painting will be on long-term loan to the Norman Rockwell Museum for public display until 2020. The Lucas Museum will additionally explore opportunities to loan the painting to other museums in Massachusetts and elsewhere following its residency at Rockwell Museum, in order to maximize public access to this beloved work of art. It will then be featured at the Lucas Museum, opening in 2022, where it will continue to be on public display.
The House of the Seven Gables is in the midst of its 350th anniversary year! Over the course of 2018, the staff has been actively involved with celebratory programming ranging from the world premiere of a staged reading of the famed novel to a photographic exhibit of new American citizens in Massachusetts to a rousing music festival on August 4. Each event has been focused not only on fun, but also sharing the many aspects of the house and site that make it a unique experience. Please visit us this fall for more events!
The House of the Seven Gables, 350 years old this year, is under the microscope. Scrutiny in old age, while unpleasant for humans, ensures quality longevity and accessibility when it comes to a historic American icon and its adjoining venerable properties. ObjectIDEA, a museum consulting firm based in Salem, has begun a year-long study of The House of the Seven Gables' visitor experience. The aim is to develop a vibrant new visitor experience through a reconceived interpretive plan that is informed by the latest information on quality visitor experience and on-campus survey findings. The development of the interpretive plan will involve input from visitors and a collaboration between staff and consultants. The interpretive plan is made possible by a $10,000 matching grant from the National Trust.
Wild Cat Station, EcoTarium
The EcoTarium has announced that construction has begun of Wild Cat Station, the final project in Phase II of the museum's Third Century Plan. Launched in June 2016, Phase II included four components set to reinvigorate the campus. Wild Cat Station brings mountain lions and native bird species in a new spectacular outdoor exhibit. Through innovative design and re-purposing of a former polar bear habitat, the mountain lion exhibit will range across two stories in height, offering multiple viewing stations for guests. Wild Cat Station will be a platform for educational programs enabling the EcoTarium to accommodate more visitors, specifically school groups in higher frequency than is currently feasible. The plan includes an updated open designed plaza, ideal for large group audiences. Wild Cat Station is scheduled to open to the public in early 2019.
Nichols House Museum received a Feasibility and Technical Assistance/Cultural Facilities Fund Grant of $7,000 from Mass Cultural Council to support climate control upgrade planning at the museum, and a 1:1 match was received from a donor. Nichols House has been working with Landmark Facilities Group to develop specifications for a replacement system to improve interior environmental conditions for the building and collection.
Solar panel at Old Sturbridge Village
Old Sturbridge Village has turned the switch on a 5,400-panel solar energy system, adding a 21st century technology to a 19th century community. OSV is expected to save $1.5 million on energy costs over the life of the system. The energy system, installed by Solect Energy of Hopkinton, is expected to produce 2.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, enough to offset about three-fourths of the museum's power use. It's enough energy to equal taking 351 cars off the road each year, according to Solect, which announced the completion of the system on Thursday.
Board members at Andover Historical Society say they are among that opposite crowd and are by no means exclusive. They officially dropped "Society" from their name at a board meeting on April 29. The new name is The Andover Center for History & Culture. Executive Director Elaine Clements said historical "societies" across the country struggle with their names and often inaccurate descriptions. Andover Historical Society, over 100 years old, is no different. In fact, Andover has been talking about a name change for 10 years. "One of the biggest internal changes happened when we started asking ourselves, 'why not?'," said Clements. "That simple change opened up a world of possibilities for programs and partnerships and led to participation in the creation of the Historic Mill District, and new partnerships with schools, teachers, the town, and other civic and cultural groups in Andover." Clements said the word "society" is outdated for many people. The new logo is a leaf to represent "a historic and universal representation of culture," Tubinis said.
Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage 'Round the World
America's longest painting will be exhibited by the New Bedford Whaling Museum. In 2017, the museum completed the conservation of the 1,275-foot-long Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage 'Round the World, painted in 1848. This summer, the public will be reintroduced to the newly restored painting through two exhibitions: "A Spectacle in Motion: The Original" and "A Spectacle in Motion: The Experience." Each exhibition will honor different aspects of the artwork.
The Mead Art museum received two grants from the Henry Luce Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art in support of their upcoming exhibition, Dimensionism: Modern Art in the Age of Einstein, and its catalogue, which is being published by MIT Press. The Mead received a $3 million gift from John and Sue Wieland. The funds were allocated to endow the Mead's director position and support acquisitions of contemporary art. The Mead received eight works by Leon Polk-Smith. One work was gifted Richard and Brooke Kamin Rapaport. The others were gifted by the Leon Polk-Smith Foundation. The Mead's board approved the acquisition of Yinka Shonibare's The American Library (Activists). This is the first Shonibare in the Mead's collection and the first major work by Shonibare in the Five Colleges. The American Library (Activists) will be on view this fall. The Mead has commissioned five original works of art on behalf of the Amherst College Resource Centers.
Buttonwoods Museum has received a $900 Haverhill Cultural Council grant - $500 for Punctuate4 Theater Group for costs associated with producing the play "Saltonstall" and $400 for the Buttonwoods Museum to produce a booklet on the Saltonstall family of Haverhill, MA. The project is a cooperative effort between Buttonwoods, Northern Essex Community College and Punctuate4 Productions. By combining the informational brochure with the play, Buttonwoods created a project that tells an important story in a popular format supported by a long-term educational resource. The Saltonstall project received a grant from the Haverhill Cultural Council.
Lexington Historical Society has announced that the organization recently received $3,000 from the Dana Home Foundation to install sound absorbing paneling in the historic Lexington Depot. The Depot was built in 1846 and served as an active train station until rail service was terminated in 1977. The Historical Society acquired the building in 1999 and completely renovated the structure. The building houses the Society's offices, hosts many of its programs, and is available for rent to local organizations. LHS also received $4,000 from the Community Endowment of Lexington, an Endowed Fund of the Foundation for MetroWest, to support World War I commemorative activities during the fall of 2018.
The following NEMA members received grants from Essex Heritage:
- Based on a successful 2017 pilot program intended to augment a lack of local history in the school curriculum until 3rd grade or even high school, Andover Center for History & Culture will be offering "Discovering my Neighborhood," in which students will examine objects, photographs, and maps that tell the story of their neighborhood and the town. Students will be able to consider how Andover has changed, how it stayed the same, and how it might change in the future. The program will be tailored to each neighborhood, the historical development of Andover being reflected in its five school districts.
- The Historical Society of Old Newbury will use their partnership grant to update their current museum, which was last updated in 1995 and was victim to unfortunate water damage. Partnering with five local schools to offer new programming, the museum will be turning its focus to its collections and exhibits relating to the American Revolution and Civil War to provide deeper interpretation of these two major conflicts that figure prominently in local history. The update will also ensure that these events are well-represented by the museum's collections, and align with the curricular interests of local school groups by paying special attention to the events effects on a local level.
- Partnering with the City of Peabody and the Peabody Historical Commission in their efforts to improve Crystal Lake Park, the Peabody Historical Society will be implementing the "Witch Trials Legacy Trail of Peabody" by developing and providing three new interpretive displays clarifying witch trial history as it relates to Peabody as well as removing and re-placing two signs already at Crystal Lake Park to compliment the new design. In addition to the improved signage, the Peabody Historical Society will be developing an interactive audio tour, information for which will be displayed on the new signage.
Rhode Island
On July 11, the Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS), the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society (RIBHS), and Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission (RIHPHC) held a public meeting to share the latest research from their collaborative project on African Americans' struggle for Civil Rights in Rhode Island during the 20th century. The work is supported by a $49,557.76 grant from the National Park Service (NPS) through its African American Civil Rights Grant Program, which assists projects that "document, interpret, and preserve the sites and stories related to the African American struggle to gain equal rights as citizens in the 20th Century." Rhode Island's proposal was one of 39 projects in 20 states to be funded by the competitive grant program in 2017. The public meeting marks the winding down of Phase 1 of the multi-part project. In the first phase, RIBHS researchers conducted oral history interviews, studied primary and secondary sources, and produced a comprehensive study of the state's 20th-century African American Civil Rights history. Keith Stokes, project consultant for Phase 1, will share some of his discoveries about historical trends relating to Civil Rights at Rhode Island's workplaces, educational institutions, housing, public spaces, and halls of government. The final part of the project will be carried out jointly by RIHS and RIBHS staff. Building on the work done in Phases 1 and 2, they will assemble educational materials for both educational audiences and the general public. RIBHS and RIHS plan to develop two exhibits and host opening lectures for each.
National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the NEA's second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $30,000 to the RISD Museum to support the upcoming exhibition Gorham Silver: Designing Brilliance 1850-1970. The Art Works category is the NEA's largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.