Heckscher Museum of Art

The Heckscher Museum of Art will undertake a collaborative effort to produce exhibitions and associated educational programming showcasing major works by LGBTQ+ artists. A community advisory board and a youth advisory board will inform exhibit interpretation and programming to ensure that LGBTQ+ youth voices and perspectives are centered. Exhibitions will include works by LGBTQ+ artists in the museum's permanent collection, a retrospective of American neoclassical sculptor Emma Stebbins (1815–1882), and a photography exhibition created by teen participants on the youth advisory board. A full-time Community Outreach Coordinator will be hired to facilitate the advisory boards, collaborate with the museum's education team to inform school programming, and work with core project team members including a guest curator, exhibition design contractor, and external evaluator. As a result of the project, the museum will build sustainable relationships with the local LGBTQ+ community, support the mental health and well-being of local LGBTQ+ youth, and elevate, contextualize, and interpret experiences of LGBTQ+ figures in American Art History, past and present.