Partners with Museum Hue to Produce “Museums Support Democracy” series

The Museum Association of New York (MANY) is pleased to announce Museums Support Democracy, a series of six virtual programs created in partnership with Museum Hue and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). 

Programs will explore Museums and Civil Rights, Visual and Performative Protest, Environmental Justice, Healing Historical Legacies, Ethical Collections, and Multiplying Interpretive Lenses. Each topic will be presented and discussed by museum professionals from a broad range of locations and disciplines featuring the work of culturally responsive museums. 

“Museums serve vital roles as educational, cultural and historical resources for our communities,” Congressman Paul Tonko said. “This pandemic shuttered museums across the nation and—without strong federal support—threatens to close many facilities permanently, endangering tens of thousands of jobs and risking the loss of treasured heritage. Since the beginning of this crisis, I have pushed for critically-needed relief for these cultural sites. I am ecstatic to see funding delivered through our American Rescue Plan and congratulate the Museum Association of New York on this deserved award that will give voice to diverse perspectives and enable museums to continue to educate and inspire those in our Capital Region and beyond.”

“With NEH ARP funding, the Museums Support Democracy virtual program series will allow us to partner with Museum Hue and combine expertise to inspire museum professionals across the nation as we approach the US Semiquincentennial,” said MANY Executive Director Erika Sanger. “We are honored to be able to share the exceptional work being done in museums  who work with communities, audiences, and stakeholders to promote democracy."

“Many of our museums' approaches and pedagogy places people and community care at the center of their practice and makes meaningful connections between their constituencies' experiences and their offerings (exhibitions, programs, and social services). They provide the framework and thought-leadership needed today more than ever to push forward racial, cultural, and economic equity,” said Stephanie Johnson-Cunningham, Executive Director of Museum Hue.

These programs will bring together like-minded people who are separated by geography, discipline, and the size of their institutions but joined together by similar issues and passions.

This is the second MANY virtual program series produced in partnership with Museum Hue. In 2020, “Essential Work in the Cultural Field” a five-part virtual discussion series featured museums working with their communities to address urgent needs exacerbated by the national health and economic crisis. That series reached hundreds of museum professionals in 31 states. 

Museums Support Democracy programs will be held January - March 2022, participation free, advance registration required. 

For more information email info@nysmuseums.org or call 518-273-3400.

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About MANY

The Museum Association of New York inspires, connects, and strengthens New York’s cultural community statewide by advocating, educating, collaborating, and supporting professional standards and organizational development. MANY ensures that New York State museums operate at their full potential as economic drivers and essential components of their communities. Visit https://www.nysmuseums.org 

About Museum Hue

Museum Hue is a nationally recognized organization that works to paint a larger portrait of the arts and culture field by providing greater support and recognition for Black, Indigenous, and people of color throughout museums and other cultural entities across the United States. Founded in 2015, Museum Hue has partnered and collaborated with arts and culture entities throughout the nation. Visit https://www.museumhue.com/ 

About the National Endowment for the Humanities

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov