Over 400 museum professionals from New York State Gather in Ithaca to Provide Local Economic Boost and Discuss Federal Funding Cuts
April 5, 2025, Ithaca NY, MANY officially opens its 2025 annual conference, “Cultivating Community: Looking In, Reaching Out,” 400 museum professionals from around the state will converge at the brand-new state of the art Ithaca Conference Center.
Over the past few years, New York’s museums have placed a greater emphasis on fostering and deepening their community connections, aligning and elevating institutional missions while strengthening education, sustainability, and a crucial sense of civic belonging. Nearly 90 percent of American museums now center their audiences and communities in their mission and vision statements. Their missions and work focus on expanding and diversifying their audiences and engaging with their local communities.
But what is community? Who are the members of our communities? How can we evaluate our internal structures to help us better understand our organization, define our audiences, and serve our communities? How do we bring all communities together to support our field? How can we support and develop our internal community of staff, volunteers, and board members? How can we advocate for funding that meets operational capacity needs and includes equitable staff support? What changes do we need to make to prioritize the health and well-being of our museum workforce that will support the longevity and sustainability of our institutions and strengthen our ability to build meaningful community relationships?
When our stories are silenced, it’s a loss to all humanity. Museums are not luxuries; they are keepers of truth, and we will not lose ourselves—or let others lose us—to the erasure of history.
The Museum Association of New York (MANY) is a statewide organization dedicated to supporting museums and cultural institutions across New York. As an affiliate of national organizations like the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), we strongly support their efforts at the federal level and continue to collaborate with the Consortium of State Museum Associations and peer organizations nationwide.
In February, the MANY Board issued a statement , which we continue to stand behind. Recent developments have only deepened our commitment to that message.
This week, we learned that federal funding for MANY’s state-wide project, A New Agora for New York: Museums as Spaces for Democracy, has been terminated. The $493,284 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was a critical investment in civic engagement and museum-community partnerships.
We are not alone. Our members and partners across the state are feeling the impact. For instance, the Museum of the City of New York recently received notice that its $100,000 NEH grant for Changing the Face of Democracy: Shirley Chisholm at 100 exhibition was terminated. The project included a school curriculum honoring the legacy of the first Black woman elected to Congress.
MANY remains committed to federal and state advocacy efforts. As AAM President Laura Lott shared during Museums Advocacy Day 2023, “96 percent of the public supports federal funding for museums.” That public support has helped drive an 80% increase in funding for the Office of Museum Services at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) over the last decade. On the state level, our advocacy led to the passage of the Museum Study Act—New York’s first comprehensive census of chartered museums, now underway.
Looking ahead, our 2025 annual conference, Cultivating Community: Looking In, Reaching Out, will bring together around 400 museum professionals from across New York State. This gathering is a vital opportunity to listen, learn, and strengthen our collective response to current challenges. We urge members and other institutions to complete our Federal Funding Impact Survey– CLICK HERE so we can better assess and respond to the needs in our field.
Museums and related cultural institutions are essential economic drivers and community anchors. With an average return of $3-$10 for every public dollar invested, few industries can match the economic efficiency and civic value of the arts. We are actively pursuing support from private funders to help sustain our members during this time.
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, MANY provided regranting, capacity building, and virtual programs to help museums stay connected and resilient. We will continue this work with the same spirit and determination. And we are thrilled to welcome our new Executive Director, Sarah Van Anden, who joins MANY at this critical moment to lead us forward.
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More about MANY:
MANY helps shape a better future for museums and museum professionals by uplifting best practices and building organizational capacity through advocacy, training, and networking opportunities. MANY serves over 1,400 museums across New York State including museum studies professors and students, libraries and archives, and museum industry partners.
MANY's members represent the full range of museum sizes, missions, disciplines, and geographic locations. At the end of 2023, MANY had 733 members with 1,063 staff bundled to their organizations’ accounts. Group memberships created in the past two years with the Historic House Trust of New York City and the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation provide access to MANY resources and discounts for hundreds of museum professionals employed by New York City and the State.
