Last year, we shared the news with you that The Heckscher Museum of Art was awarded a distinguished $250,000 grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in support of an exciting year of programs and exhibitions. Yesterday, the Museum received the sobering news that the entire staff of IMLS was put on immediate leave, and the federal agency which had been providing critical non-partisan support to U.S. Museums and Libraries for over fifty years, had been identified by the US government’s executive branch to be immediately dismantled.
To date, we have received only 50% of the essential funding awarded through this grant. Now, in order to continue this vital work we need your support.
Your support today will help to:
• Complete the development of upcoming exhibitions featuring Berenice Abbott, Paul Cadmus, Jared French, vanessa german, Marsden Hartley, Alfonso Ossorio, Betty Parsons, and Mickalene Thomas, bringing world class art to Huntington;
• Develop new ASL guided video tours increasing access to every exhibition;
• Create a youth designed zine and living timeline connecting artists in the galleries with Long Island history for our upcoming summer exhibition All of Me With All of You;
• Support an intergenerational group of mentors enhancing teen mental health through the creation of art and fostering of community connections;
• Make possible a groundbreaking new exhibition Emma Stebbins: Carving Out History, devoted to the sculptor who is best-known for her Bethesda Fountain in Central Park.
“As an art museum, we have an obligation to be a space where marginalized community members feel welcome and can express themselves and be comfortable. Museums are not just a home for the paintings, but a home for the people who create the art, the people who are in our community– a place for people to connect with one another, where people can have challenging conversations…To learn and develop empathy and respect and be a safe space to engage in deep conversations without animosity.” – Heckscher Museum of Art CEO Heather Arnet, The Art Newspaper.
The Heckscher Museum of Art gratefully serves as a forum for community where sharing and educating lead to better understanding and empathy. Our mission is to create opportunities for everyone to experience art that broadens understanding of the past, fosters community connections to the present, and creates diverse possibilities for the future.
We will continue to work tirelessly every day to ensure that all people have access to the arts and feel safe and welcome in our galleries. Thank you for being partners with us in these efforts.
