The $250,000 Prize Will Focus on 2025 LGBTQ+ Exhibitions and Programs
The Heckscher Museum of Art has been awarded a significant grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the Museums for America program. The $250,000 grant for The Heckscher Museum, the largest amount available, is one of 115 projects nationwide which garnered IMLS support, and was selected from hundreds of submissions nationally.
“IMLS remains committed to serving the museum field and furthering the goals of the American public,” said IMLS Acting Director Cyndee Landrum. “The Museums for America program encourages applicants to be creative in their response to challenges, and to envision a bold future for their institution.”
“We are honored to accept this grant from IMLS,” said Museum Executive Director and CEO Heather Arnet. “It further solidifies our commitment to serving our community and showcasing diverse artists and stories. As we look to 2025, we are excited to engage youth and intergenerational community members in a robust year of exhibitions and programming highlighting and celebrating LGBTQ+ history and artists.”
The focus for the year was inspired by the tenth anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the historic Supreme Court case recognizing same-sex couples’ right to marry, as well as by the Museum’s ongoing partnerships with active community and cultural organizations and artists.
“We are excited about the Museum’s 2025 Exhibition year, and its capacity to shine a light on LGBTQ+ artists,” shared Robert Vitelli, CEO, LGBT Network “This exhibition year also provides an opportunity to highlight the important role that New York and Long Island have played in LGBT history and the contributions our community has made to the arts and to advancing civil rights for all people.”
Thanks to the IMLS grant, The Heckscher Museum of Art will center community members in a collaborative effort to develop exhibitions and public programming highlighting major works by LGBTQ+ artists, including Berenice Abbott, Marsden Hartley, Betty Parsons, the PaJaMa collective (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French), Alice Rahon, Robert Rauschenberg and many more. The year will also mark the first-ever solo exhibition of American neoclassical sculptor Emma Stebbins (1815–1882). The grant allows the Museum to elevate and interpret experiences of LGBTQ+ figures in American Art, past and present, to deepen and expand relationships in the community, and to engage community members in exhibition and programming development.
Additional 2025 Partners
“My work as Guest Curator on the exhibition planned at The Heckscher for the summer of 2025, will fill the entire Museum with pieces from the Museum’s collection connected to the LGBTQ+ community. I look forward to collaborating with curatorial, education, and outreach staff and members of the Museum’s LGBTQ+ Youth Advisory Board and Community Advisory Board throughout this process,” shared Victoria Munro, Executive Director, Alice Austen House.
“This project represents a logical progression and continuation of the Museum’s strategic goals and mission to connect with and engage community.” said Evangeline J. Knell, Owner / Creative Director Identity Digital Inc. “I have had the pleasure of collaborating with The Heckscher Museum of Art, developing community-driven exhibition content, engaging middle school girls from Girls Inc. Long Island to create a Soundwalk, creating story-telling video interviews with diverse members of the Huntington community, and interviewing Executive Director, Heather Arnet, for our goinglocal.tv program for Huntington Pride. I am honored to have been asked to be a member of the Community Advisory Board who will work on this project.”
About The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
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. The Museum for America program supports museums of all sizes and disciplines in strategic, project-based efforts to serve the public through exhibitions, educational/interpretive programs, digital learning resources, professional development, community debate and dialogue, audience-focused studies, and collections. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About The Heckscher Museum of Art
The Heckscher Museum of Art is in its second century as a source of art and inspiration on Long Island. Founded by philanthropists Anna and August Heckscher in 1920, the Museum’s collection comprises 2,300 artworks spanning the nineteenth century to the present. The Museum is committed to growing the collection to develop public awareness for the artists whose careers and life experiences can broaden our understanding of the past, foster community connections to the present, and create diverse possibilities for the future. Located in scenic Heckscher Park in Huntington, NY, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Continuing the legacy of the founders, free admission to the Museum for 2025 is supported through a generous grant from Bank of America. Heckscher.org
