Federal Investments Generate Over $8 Million in Matching Funds Bridging Gaps to Strengthen Museums as Community Anchors

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced awards totaling $6,000,000 in Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (AAHC). The 34 grantees will match these awards with an additional $8,002,981 in non-federal funds. A total of 72 organizations requested grants totaling $12,719,357.

Museum Grants for African American History and Culture support activities that build the capacity of African American museums and support the growth and development of museum professionals at African American museums.

"IMLS is proud to support museums and cultural organizations doing important work to increase access to the stories of inspiring people, events, and experiences, at the center of African American history,” said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper. "Our Museum Grants for African American History and Culture demonstrate the commitment to preservation and promoting education of the rich cultural heritage across this country.”

Examples of AAHC funded grants include:

• The National Jazz Museum in Harlem will diversify and attract new audiences through an online video series highlighting jazz as a uniquely American art form by examining jazz in relationship to place, society, and history. Jazz musicians, educators, and historians will present each topic and provide historic context. Museum staff will collaborate with a video production consultant to develop the video series and a user experience consultant to create the platform and interactive elements. The video series will help visitors gain a deeper understanding of the musical and cultural impact of jazz and its musicians with a focus on the lives of the jazz greats who called and continue to call Harlem their home.

• The Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center will build institutional capacity by developing new programs and exhibitions, implementing a new volunteer and intern program, and expanding digital content. Project activities include recruiting and training volunteers and a paid intern to conduct tours and improve engagement with the public; engaging a contractor to help develop a new website; implementing new digital tours; creating three new oral history recordings; and developing a traveling exhibition to educate the public on the Jim Crow Era. This project will equip a new cadre of youth and seniors to effectively communicate local history and improve public understanding of the legacy of segregation.

• The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center will improve the experience of visitors by updating content and upgrading interactive technology components in its permanent exhibit. With the assistance of an exhibit design consultant, the project team will review and update interactive content, source new high-resolution images and film, write new code, and install new software and hardware technology. These updates will enhance audio and visual components that are an integral part of the museum’s permanent exhibit and will allow visitors of all ages, especially students, to better see, hear, and understand the impact of Mississippi Delta blues on world music.

• The Association of African American Museums (AAAM) will expand its Executive Leadership Training program in collaboration with the Howard University School of Business. AAAM will select 25 mid-level and senior-level museum professionals and leaders annually to attend in-person activities at the annual conference, engage in six strategic modules, and a collaborate on a capstone project. Participants will gain knowledge and insights about non-profit management and leadership and expand their network of colleagues and faculty members for life-long learning and support. Participants who complete the program will receive a joint certificate from AAAM and Howard University.

More information about museum grant opportunities can be found on the IMLS website.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America's museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.