Governor Kathy Hochul announced that a total of $68 million was awarded to support 74 projects across New York State through the 2022 Regional Economic Development Council initiative. This round of funding included core capital grant and tax-credit funding from Empire State Development. 25 museums across New York State received $9.7 million.
The Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY was awarded $25,000 to expand and enhance their marketing strategies and partnerships.
Capital Region –2 museums totaling $180,400
Thomas Cole National Historic Site, $120,000
ESD Market NY Program
Women, Land + Art Marketing Campaign Tourism Working Capital
Thomas Cole National Historic Site will use grant funds to implement and promote “Women, Land + Art: Showcasing the Hudson River School for Contemporary Audiences”. This project will expand the reach of NYS’s heritage by expanding the story to include historic and contemporary women.
The Sembrich, $60,400
ESD Market NY Program
The Sembrich Centennial Marketing Initiative Tourism Working Capital
The Sembrich Museum will use grant funds to enhance marketing presence leading to the facilities centennial in 2024. Marketing efforts will expand in local and regional publications, social media campaigns, digital & print advertisements and new geographic targeted markets.
Central NY –1 museum totaling $25,000
Everson Museum of Art, $25,000
ESD Market NY Program
Everson Museum of Art Marketing Initiative Tourism Working Capital
Everson Museum of Art of Syracuse will use grant funds to support an expanded and enhanced marketing strategies, partnerships, and collateral. The Everson will welcome visitors from across the country, state, and region to engage in unique museum experiences, support the region’s rich art and culture scene, and contribute to the post-pandemic revitalization of downtown Syracuse and Central New York through increased tourism and tourist spending dollars.
Finger Lakes –2 museums totaling $254,283
Strong National Museum of Play, $175,000
ESD Market NY Program
Play Rochester 2023: A Collaborative Tourism Driver Tourism Working Capital
Play Rochester is a collaborative tourism marketing project created and led by The Strong utilizing grant funds to drive tourism to the Rochester region by marketing to targeted audiences within a 5-hour drive and providing online resources for consumers to create tailor-made packages when planning their trip. Through online and TV marketing that features both The Strong and partnering cultural institutions, the project promotes the region and its cultural assets.
Genesee Country Village and Museum, $79,283
ESD Market NY Program
Eclipse and General Marketing Tourism Working Capital
Genesee Country Village and Museum (GCV&M) will use grant funds to develop and promote new programming to attract visitors, combining education and entertainment with rural character, local agriculture, authentic foodways, and diverse storytelling. The Museum will also use the 2024 eclipse to draw visitors to view the event from GCV&M and stay locally.
Long Island –2 museums totaling $127,000
The Museum of American Armor, $60,000
ESD Market NY Program
Heritage Marketing Tourism Working Capital
The Museum of American Armor, a WWII living history destination, will use grant funds to implement a marketing campaign that seeks to reach an international and national tourism market and increasing the awareness of The Museum of American Armor and increasing overnight tourism to Nassau County, and the overall Long Island region.
Southold Historical Museum, $67,000
ESD Market NY Program
Southold Rediscovered Tourism Working Capital
Southold Historical Museum will use the funds to support the planning and implementation of a tourism marketing plan with the goal to showcase on a regional, national and international basis, the significance of the Southhold Historical Museum.
Mid-Hudson –2 museums totaling $1,600,000
Dia Art Foundation (Dia Beacon), $400,000
ESD Market NY Program
Dia Beacon Tourism Capital
Dia Art Foundation will use grant funds for critical renovations to the tourism destination. Capital improvements that include: a facade restoration addressing climate control/energy efficiency issues; relandscaping of an area impacting accessibility; creating more accessible gender neutral and family restrooms; and replacement of the HVAC system.
Storm King Art Center, $1,200,000
ESD Market NY Program
Storm King Art Center Tourism Capital
Storm King Art Center will use funds to fund a portion of a capital project that includes two building elements: a Welcome Sequence (WS) and a Conservation, Fabrication, and Maintenance (CFM) Building. These updates to the tourism destination will further enhance the experience of residents and visitors.
Mohawk Valley, 2 museums totaling $457,500
The Farmer’s Museum, $52,500
ESD Market NY Program
The Farmers Museum Tourism Attraction Rebranding and Website Redesign
The Farmers’ Museum (TFM) requests marketing funds to undertake a major rebranding effort and build a state-of-the-art, easy-to-navigate website that captures and conveys the museum’s vibrant personality, attracting visitors to Cooperstown and the Mohawk Valley.
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, $405,000
New York Main Street Homes and Community Renewal Program (HCR NYMS)
503 Henry Street Stabilization
Munson-Williams will structurally stabilize 503 Henry St., an unoccupied architecturally significant residence in downtown Utica.
New York City, 6 museums totaling $3,979,400
New-York Historical Society, $1,250,000
ESD Grants
New-York Historical Society/American LGBTQ Museum Partnership Project, $1,000,000
The New-York Historical Society (“N-YHS”) will expand its current building on an N-YHS-owned adjacent lot, with the top floor housing The American LGBTQ+ Museum, a new institution dedicated to preserving and sharing LGBTQ+ history and culture. Including new galleries, classrooms, and outdoor spaces, the expansion will facilitate collaborative educational resources integrating LGBTQ+ history and filling gaps in K-12 curricula and allow N-YHS to increase by tens of thousands the number of students, teachers, and families served.
ESD Market NY Program
New-York Historical Society/American LGBTQ Museum Tourism Capital, $250,000
The New-York Historical Society (N-YHS) will expand its current building. Currently, the top floor of the building is housing The American LGBTQ + Museum, a new institution dedicated to preserving and sharing LGBTQ+ history and culture. This partnership will create a new tourist destination and increase visitation for New York State, and the overall NYC area.
New York Botanical Garden, $461,000
ESD Market NY Program
NYBG Green Library Tourism Capital
New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) will use funds granted to implement The Green Library project, a construction project that includes procurement and installation of two 140-ton HVAC Chiller units, pumps, supply and return piping, insulation, connection to the existing fire alarm and building management systems. The project, when completed, will have both clear energy reduction benefits and add to NYBG's ability to welcome guests from around the corner and across the globe.
American Museum of Natural History, $150,000
ESD Market NY Program
American Museum of Natural History Digital Marketing Campaign Tourism Working Capital
The American Museum of Natural History in New York City will use grant funds to execute a marketing campaign targeting international and regional audiences to grow visitation to New York State and the Museum.
Lower East Side Tenement Museum, $218,400
ESD Market NY Program
Tenement Museum Marketing Tourism Working Capital
The Tenement Museum will use grant funds for a tourism outreach campaign that will draw local, regional, and international visitors to NYC’s Lower East Side for the re-opening of our historic landmark tenement and the launch of a new exhibit.
New Museum of Contemporary Art, $1,800,000
ESD Market NY Program
New Museum of Contemporary Art Expansion Tourism Capital
The New Museum, a leading contemporary arts museum on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, will construct a 55,000 sq. ft. addition adjacent to their current facility. This capital expansion will double the Museum’s footprint, improve public circulation, enhance indoor air quality and energy efficiencies, create an increase in permanent staff, raise annual attendance, and drive additional City and State tax revenue
American Museum of the Moving Image, $100,000
ESD Market NY Program
Special Events Marketing Tourism Working Capital
American Museum of the Moving Image will utilize the grant funds to implement and promote multiple series of special events that attract filmmakers and tourists from Queens, all of NYC, NYS, the US, and abroad. The diverse slate of events will attract new audiences, including many overnight visitors.
North Country, 3 museums totaling $461,900
Fort Ticonderoga, $211,700
ESD Market NY Program
Fort Ticonderoga Tourism Working Capital
Fort Ticonderoga plans to utilize the grant funds to plan and execute a tourism marketing plan to promote Fort Ticonderoga as a multi-day experience and tourism destination, encouraging visitors to stay in the North Country longer, boosting awareness of the broad array of activities available.
Adirondack Historical Association, $50,200
ESD Market NY Program
Building African American Audiences for ADKX and the Region Tourism Working Capital
Adirondack Historical Association will use grant funds to initiate targeted marketing to African American communities and host two festivals highlighting their culture.
North Country Children’s Museum, $200,000
HCR NYMS
Second Floor Expansion Project
The North Country Children's Museum will complete the expansion project and renovate the second floor of its building in downtown Potsdam.
Western NY, 5 museums totaling $2,634,704
Explore & More Children’s Museum, $384,704
ESD Grants
Explore & More Expansion Project
Explore & More will enhance and modify the footprint of all four floors of the children's museum, improving building accessibility and increasing guest safety. It will ensure the sustainability and outgrowth of a long lifespan of the museum and its mission to provide best-in-class PLAY experiences where all children, families and the community can explore, learn, and develop together.
Center for Kashmir, Inc, $1,000,000
ESD Grants
The Kashmir Museum
Center for Kashmir will redevelop a 97-year-old abandoned church on the National Register of Historic Places, in the heart of downtown Niagara Falls, NY to house the The Kashmir Museum (TKM). The Kashmir Museum will exist to study, preserve, and share Kashmir’s history and culture with the world. Teaming up with local schools and community organizations, TKM will have year-long art, music, literary clinics, and local artist exhibitions.
Burchfield Penney Art Center, $50,000
ESD Market NY Program
Burchfield Penney Art Center Tourism Working Capital
The Burchfield Penney Art Center (BPAC), located in Buffalo's Museum District, will use the grant funds to initiate a strategic marketing plan with a goal of engaging out-of-town visitation to the destination and overall Western NY region.
Buffalo Society of Natural Science (Buffalo Museum of Science), $200,000
ESD Market NY Program
Buffalo Museum of Science Tourism Capital
Buffalo Museum of Science will use the tourism grant to fund a portion of the renovations to the museum's core exhibits into a hands-on learning gallery focused on the “Science of Sport.” The new dynamic Science of Sport exhibit will stand a tremendous educational, entertainment, and quality-of-life resource for our region and become significant draw for tourism.
The Aquarium of Niagara, $1,000,000
ESD Market NY Program
The Aquarium of Niagara Tourism Capital
The Aquarium of Niagara will use the tourism capital grant to fund a portion of the construction costs to open a new cultural attraction in the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center. The Aquarium of Niagara will also use tourism marketing funds to directly appeal to visitors through a regionally-based, multi-pronged advertising campaign.
Learn more about NYS REDC here: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-more-68-million-awarded-round-xii-regional-economic-development
