I grew up in New York City playing on blacktop surfaces and walking along rivers bounded by concrete walls. I now live in a 200-year-old farm house on three acres of land adjacent to a “kill,” in a county with a population of less than 160,000 people. Learning the names of plants and trees does not come easily - Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory would place my skill set firmly in the visual-spatial category. Activities that call upon naturalistic intelligence can be a challenge.

When walking through the Phoenix Desert Botanic Garden during the 2018 AAM conference, someone turned to me and asked, “What is that sound?” I genuinely surprised myself when I quickly responded, “That’s a mourning dove.” It didn’t sound exactly like the mourning doves in my backyard in New York, but it was close. As she and I scanned the trees together to find the bird, we talked of the places we lived and worked and became acquainted with each other and the garden.

Attending the 2018 AAM conference reminded me how important it is to seek out opportunities for professional development, to listen and learn from colleagues, to be present in rooms where people are sharing their best work, to take to heart the opinions of others, and to hear meaning in the words of someone you don’t know.

Many of the concurrent sessions, roundtable discussions, and keynote speeches I attended at the 2018 AAM conference in Phoenix centered on the work of AAM’s Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Committee. Those sessions and the committee’s report are a call to action to change the way we recruit and train our staff, work with our communities, and share our exhibitions and collections. No matter the museum in which we work, or the community we call home, it is time to get a bigger table for our meetings - or maybe even move the meeting to a bigger room - to create a place for multiple perspectives when decisions are made in and for our institutions, and to listen to things that may be difficult to hear.

With the geographic and demographic range of New York State, each museum and community will have to define diversity for themselves. We each need to do our part to represent all of New York’s history, art, and culture within our museum spaces. What we know or don’t know should not impede the process. The collective intelligence of New York’s museum professionals is there to support us. There is no right or wrong way to partner with a community or train an emerging professional if we are responsive and dialogic, listen closely, and create fearlessly together.

When I left New York City, I knew that every individual’s experience was different from the millions of others that call the city home, but tone deaf to much of the natural world. Patient friends taught me the sounds of the field and the forests. The sessions I attended and museums I visited in Phoenix reminded me that as I have learned to distinguish the song of a mourning dove, whether it looks like the one in my backyard maple or the one perched on a cactus, we all have much to learn from the stories that are told by our colleagues and our museums.  

Tomorrow, we launch our e-newsletter for MANY members. Each month we will feature original reporting by our Marketing and Social Media Coordinator, Sarah Heikkinen. Her articles will share the work of three MANY member’s programs and achievements with three themes:

• how museums are growing institutional resources, including welcoming new staff and board members and securing funding for projects;
• how museums are working with their community and visitors;
• and how we use our exhibitions and collections in new ways.

We’re excited to share this newsletter with our members and hope that, if you are not a member, you will consider joining our growing New York State museum community today.

With thanks,

Erika Sanger

Executive Director, MANY

On April 10, 2018, Suzanne LeBlanc, President of Long Island Children’s Museum (LICM) began her tenure as President of the Museum Association of New York’s (MANY) Board of Directors at their annual conference. LeBlanc is preceded by Robert Cassetti, Senior Director of Creative Services and Marketing at the Corning Museum of Glass. Cassetti served as the president of the Museum Association of New York’s Board for four years.

LeBlanc brings with her over 40 years of experience in the children’s museum field, having worked in leadership positions at children’s museums in Boston, Brooklyn, and Las Vegas. LeBlanc earned an MA in Counseling Psychology from Lesley College and a BS in Journalism and Photojournalism from the School of Public Communication at Boston University.

In the 14 years she’s been at the LICM, LeBlanc has been a member of the Community Advisory Council of the Junior League, and a member of the Early Years Institute Advisory Committee. She was also named one of the “50 Most Influential Businesswomen of Long Island” by the Long Island Business News. LeBlanc is a member of the New York State Regents Museum Advisory Council and has served as the Vice President of the Association of Children’s Museums and as President of the Nevada Museums Association.

Erika Sanger, the Executive Director of MANY, said she is looking forward to working with LeBlanc. “Suzanne’s commitment to diversity in museum content and staffing serves as a model for the field, and her expansive experience at museums and museum associations across the country will benefit all of MANY’s members,” Sanger said.

LeBlanc has been a member of the MANY Board for six years, acting as the chair of the Governance Committee and serving on the Audit and Finance Committee. On her new tenure as Board President, LeBlanc said, “This is an exciting time in the history of the Museum Association of New York. Working with all the members of the Board, Executive Director Erika Sanger, and MANY staff members Sarah Heikkinen and Rachel Bournique, I hope to help lead the organization to new levels of growth, advocacy, and service delivery.”

LeBlanc’s previous position as Vice President has been filled by Tom Shannon, Director of Facilities at Dia:Beacon. In addition to his duties as Vice President, Shannon is the chair of MANY’s Programming Committee and serves on the Executive Committee.

MANY is also welcoming four new museum professionals from across the state to the board: Eliza Kozlowski, the Director of Marketing and Engagement at the George Eastman Museum; Sheila McDaniel, the Deputy Director of Finance and Operations at the Studio Museum in Harlem; Natalie Stetson, the Executive Director of the Erie Canal Museum; and Thomas P. Schuler, the Chief Government Affairs Officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“With 24 board members from the state’s ten economic development regions, MANY’s board represents the full range of the geographic, content, and budget size diversity of New York State’s museums,” Sanger said.

Beth Levinthal, an Arts Management Consultant and former Secretary of the MANY Board, joined Andrew Saluti, Assistant Professor at the School of Design at Syracuse University and Robert K. Cassetti in retiring from the board after six years of service. Sara Pasti, the Neil C. Trager Director of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, is replacing her as Secretary of the 2018-2019 Board.

Photo courtesy of Erich Camping, 2018.

Dear Members,

Now that the post-conference dust has settled, we’re excited to officially announce MANY’s next venture: the relaunch of our monthly member e-newsletter! The primary purpose of the relaunch is to show our member base that no matter their size, location, or content area, all museums and cultural institutions are concerned with the same three issues:

1. Resources, both human and financial;
   
2. The relationship with the Community in which they are located, and;
   
3. Access to their Exhibitions & Collections.
   

Stories and events that showcase how museums in New York State have addressed these issues in their day-to-day operations will be the core of this newsletter. In each edition, we will share the accomplishments of our members through articles and posts from our website and social media channels.

We need your help to make this newsletter a success. MANY is only as strong as our members, and although you will be able to share your stories with your colleagues through links on our website, this newsletter is a benefit of your MANY membership. 

Here’s how it’s going to work: Think about what stories you want us to share with other museum professionals in New York. Consider these questions while you’re brainstorming ideas:

• What are you working on that’s new and exciting?
• What is something you’re proud to have accomplished in the last year?
• What awards or accolades have you received for your work?

Send your pitches via email to our Marketing and Social Media Coordinator, Sarah Heikkinen (sheikkinen@nysmuseums.org). Sarah will be producing the newsletter and managing the News, Member News, and Discussion and Events Forum pages on our website. Send all submissions, questions, and feedback to her. Please include the words "Newsletter Submission" in the subject line. All pitches should be submitted to Sarah by the second Wednesday of the month. Look for the first issue of the MANY e-newsletter in your inbox on May 30, 2018!

Other newsletter content will include editorial features from guest authors and highlights from our social media pages. We’ll be adding multimedia features to the newsletter as it grows, so we also invite you to share photos, videos, and other media with your submissions.

We’re so excited to be starting this new chapter of MANY with all of you. Thank you again to all who attended Visioning Change for making #MANY2018 a tremendous success. If you haven’t taken our post-conference survey, it will be open through May 1^st – take it here!

Until next month,

PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE GRANTS FOR SMALLER INSTITUTIONS
GUIDELINES NOW AVAILABLE

The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Division of Preservation and Access has offered Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions since 2000. These grants help smaller and mid-sized cultural heritage institutions such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections.

Awards of up to $6,000 support preservation-related collection assessments, consultations, purchase of preservation supplies and equipment, training and workshops, and institutional and collaborative disaster and emergency planning. (Applicants may request up to $7,000 if the project would support emerging professionals, as discussed below.) Preservation Assistance Grants also support assessments of digital collections, education and training in standards and best practices for digital preservation, and the care and handling of collections during digitization. NEH does not fund digitization or the development of digital programs in this grant category.  

All applications to NEH must be submitted through Grants.gov; see the application guidelines for details. The 2018 guidelines for Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions are available at www.neh.gov/files/grants/pres-assist-grants-may-1-2018.pdf. You will also find sample project descriptions, sample narratives, and a list of frequently asked questions. The deadline for applications is May 1, 2018.

Smaller and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant are encouraged to apply. We also have a special encouragement for applications from Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Tribal Colleges and Universities, and from Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian and Native Alaskan organizations with significant humanities collections. 

Mindful of the importance of preserving cultural heritage in regions affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as wildfires and mudslides in California, the program is offering special assistance of up to $10,000 to applicants in federally declared disaster areas.  In addition to the regular activities supported by Preservation Assistance Grants, applicants in these areas are encouraged to seek additional support for disaster planning, response, recovery, and mitigation; preservation assessments; conservation treatments; the temporary relocation and storage of collections; the purchase of supplies; education and training related to disaster planning and response; and the reformatting of collections as a preservation methodology.

NEH is also offering encouragements to address issues facing smaller institutions and the preservation field. To provide practical experience to emerging preservation professionals, we encourage consultants to work as mentors with advanced students or recent graduates from preservation programs who may assist in conducting preservation assessments, addressing specific preservation issues, and/or training staff at the applicant institution. Applicants may request up to an additional $1,000 if the consultant is working with emerging professionals.  To address the risk to cultural heritage materials from natural disasters, theft, and other types of destruction, NEH encourages all applicants to develop disaster plans and to work collaboratively with local institutions for training in disaster preparedness and emergency response.

See our Web series, 50 States of Preservation, about PAG awardees across the country, on our Web site: www.neh.gov/divisions/preservation/featured-project.

For more information, contact the staff of NEH’s Division of Preservation and Access at 202-606-8570 or preservation@neh.gov.

Dear Museum Directors:

Greetings from Washington, DC! I write you today to invite your museum to participate this year in the Blue Star Museums program. For the past eight years, the National Endowment for the Arts has collaborated with Blue Star Families and the U.S. Department of Defense on Blue Star Museums, a program which provides free museum admission to active duty military and their families all summer long. Each year, more than 2,000 museums participate, reaching on average more than 856,000 military members and their families.

To become a Blue Star museum, the process is simple: just follow this link to sign up on-line. Even if you have participated in the past, you must sign up again to participate in 2018. If your institution is already offering a similar program or already offers free admission to all, registering as a Blue Star Museum provides a national platform to showcase your museum to the military community.

After registration, you will receive a welcome email with a link to the Blue Star Museums webpage where you will find information on admissions eligibility and promotional resources to help you share news about this summer program. We would be deeply appreciative if you would join Blue Star Museums 2018. The Blue Star Museums program sends our nation’s military families a clear signal, that the museums of the nation recognize and honor their contributions by opening their doors to share the treasures of the nation with those who have been serving so long and so faithfully. If you have any questions please email bluestarmuseums@arts.gov or call Laska Hurley at 202-682-5451.

Sincerely,

Jane Chu, Chairman
National Endowment for the Arts

PRESS RELEASE

In 2017, the Coby Foundation awarded $556,000 in grants, the highest amount in its 16-year history, supporting projects throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The Foundation, the only one in the United States to focus its funding on the fashion and textile field, supported twenty projects that ranged from artist installations to ethnographic fashion to an exhibition examining shopping for clothing.

The largest grant went to the Penn Museum, the esteemed archaeology and anthropology institution at the University of Pennsylvania. Coby funds will allow for the display of textiles in newly renovated galleries. Featured will be luxury items, Persian silks from the 16^th and 17^th centuries that tell the story of global trade and also works collected from the Turkmen people of Central Asia ($100,000).

From Penn Museum New Textile Gallery: Hand-embroidered women's coat of natural dyed silk and cotton; Turkmenistan, Central Asia, ca. 1890, # 99-24-1.

The Fabric Workshop and Museum, also in Philadelphia, received the second largest grant for Process and Practice: 40 Years of Experimentation, which celebrates its 40^thanniversary by pairing evocative items taken from almost 60 boxes containing process materials from its artists residencies with the finished works that were produced in FWM’s Workshop. Tom Hine wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer that “The opening of its boxes is a gift to Philadelphians” ($90,000).

Other grants for contemporary projects went to the Everson Museum of Syracuse for Sheila Pepe: Hot Mess Formalism ($44,000); the Mattatuck Museum (CT) for Ùtútù, an installation by Nnenna Okore, who used textiles to commemorate the colors and landscapes of her childhood home in Nigeria (5,000); and the Philadelphia Museum of Art for an installation by Korean-American artist Jean Shin, widely acclaimed for her practice of dramatically transforming everyday objects into monumental installations ($30,000). The Parrish Art Museum created a special installation of works by the late Alan Shields, including a publication by curator Alicia Longwell ($45,000): and the Addison Gallery of American Art (MA) mounted Invisible Citings, a collaborative project joining embroidery by Elaine Reichek with sculpture by Jeanne Silverthorne ($20,000). And the Hunterdon Museum of Art (NJ) mounted a group exhibition entitled Intimate Lines: Drawing with Thread that dealt with relationships, gender and identity ($16,000).

From Parrish Art Museum’s “Alan Shields: Common Threads”: Devil, Devil, Love, 1970, Cotton belting, acrylic, beads, thread, and wood, 96 x 194 in., Museum Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Carney Fund, 2007.15.

From Hunterdon Art Museum’s “Intimate Lines”: Daniel Kornrumpf, No Mold Gold Teeth, 2013, Hand embroidery on linen, 42 x 36 in. (detail).

The Coby Foundation supported an unusual variety of fashion-related exhibitions, ranging from a James Galanos retrospective at Drexel University’s Fox Historic Costume Collection in Philadelphia ($40,000) to Fashioning the Women of Weeksville at the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn ($15,000) to the Jewish Museum’s Veiled Meanings: Fashioning Jewish Dress, from the Collection of The Israel Museum, an array of apparel from over 20 countries on four continents ($50,000). The Foundation is also supporting an ambitious exhibition, The Fashions of Fiction from Pamela to Gatsby at the Fashion Archives & Museum of Shippensburg University (PA) ($40,000) and the conservation and exhibition of a contemporary African gown, called Esther, by Nigerian designer Patience Torlowei at the National Museum of African Art ($12,000). Another project consisting of conservation and subsequent exhibition is the textile collection belonging to artist Marsden Hartley at the Bates College Museum (ME) ($19,000).

The Concord Museum’s Fresh Goods: Shopping for Clothing in a New England Town, 1750–1900 considers the shopping habits of Concordians in the 18th and 19th centuries. Visitors will be encouraged to compare their own conventions for consuming clothing to people’s practices in the past ($25,000), while Historic New England’s Head to Toe: Hat and Shoe Fashions showcases 46 hats and pairs of shoes worn in New England from the 1750s to the present, exhibited at the Eustis Estate Museum and Study Center in Milton, MA ($24,000). Both are part of the statewide MASS Fashion collaborative project.

Other 2017 Coby Foundation grants went to the Peabody Essex Museum (MA) for The Last Empresses of China ($40,000), the Textile Museum at George Washington University (DC) for A Nomad's Art: Kilims of Anatolia ($25,000), The New England Quilt Museum in Lowell (MA) for planning the exhibition Quilting the Dark Side($10,000); and Esopus Magazine’s Ernest B. Haight: Sewing and Reaping, which examines Haight’s production of 400 quilts ($6,500).

Founded by Irene Zambelli Silverman in 1994, The Coby Foundation received its major assets after Mrs. Silverman’s death in 1998. The Foundation is interested in projects that combine excellent scholarship and effective interpretation. Projects may be in the arts or humanities, contemporary or historical, but all must have a public benefit. The Executive Director of The Coby Foundation is Ward L.E. Mintz. The Foundation welcomes inquiries for proposals. Consult the Foundation’s website at http://cobyfoundation.org/inquiry/ or write to Mr. Mintz at the following address:

The Coby Foundation, Ltd.
511 Avenue of the Americas, #387
New York, NY  10011
(ward@cobyfoundation.org)

NY Museum Professionals in the Washington, DC office of New York Senator Charles Schumer March 5, 2018 Dear Members, Friends, and Colleagues, Today we are on our way to Rochester to plan for Visioning Change, MANY’s annual conference. The conference is just one month away and the Hyatt Regency Rochester discount is good through this Wednesday, March 7. Today would be a great time to register and book your hotel room. Our new website  makes registration fast and easy. Last week we were in Washington, D.C. for Museums Advocacy Day sponsored by the American Alliance for Museums. We learned some important things about New York’s Museums that made us proud to speak up for our sector. Oxford Economics’ 2017 national report “Museums as Economic Engines”  found that the total annual economic impact of Museums in New York State is $ 5.4 billion dollars -- equal to that of the state’s Agricultural Industries and second only to California in contributions to our nation’s economy.  This week we need you to take action by reaching out to your legislators in Albany in support of the Museum Education Act. With 33,000 people directly employed by Museums in New York, our significant economic impact, and new data about our service to the education field we are well positioned, but the MEA won’t get passed because we think it is the right thing to do. It will get passed when you activate your networks, speak up, and tell your legislators how we impact learning in New York State. MANY’s January 2018 Survey of Education Programs in New York State Museums brought to light important information that we would like you to share with your representatives in Albany. The report is available on our website. Our findings include: 99% of New York museums and 100% of those with annual budgets under $100,000 serve school children at their museums.  75% of New York museums serve school children at another site in their communities. 65% of museums of all budget sizes and 100% of museums with budget sizes between $2,500,000-$5,000,000 develop learning materials for teachers to use in their classrooms; 35% make those materials available on their websites. 100% of those museums with annual budgets between $25,000-$49,999 and 89% of those museums with annual budgets between $1,000,000 and $2,500,000 partner with community service organizations. We need the support of every legislator to create a funding stream that will allow us to serve our mandate as organizations chartered by the New York State Department of Education. Museums could substantially increase the number of students and adult learners we serve if funding was available to support reduced admission fees, bus transportation, web-based curricula, and teacher training. The Museum Education Act would provide funds for these activities. Personalize and localize the message to your representatives. Let them know the difference that museum funding could make in their communities. Not sure who your representatives are? You can use the MANY member map to help find them. I know that museum professionals can act with passion, urgency, and shared purpose. Tell your legislators that you want the Museum Education Act, S.1676-A sponsored by State Senator Betty Little and A. 3892 sponsored by Assembly Member Matthew J. Titone with pilot funding of $5 Million included in the one-house bills that will come to the floor on March 14th. Our strength together can make this happen for all of our museums. Erika Sanger Executive Director 265 River St. Troy, NY 12180 | www.nysmuseums.org | 518-273-3400

Members of the MANY now have access to a variety of exclusive features!
Log-in to your MANY Profile here or join us today.

Member Discussion Forum Subscribe to this member-only forum and receive notifications when your colleagues or MANY share discussion topics and information.  Exhibition & Events Forum Use this forum to share information about your upcoming events, programs, and exhibits. Although the public can see what is posted from a link on our homepage, only MANY members can share their content.  Help us spread the word about all the exciting things happening in New York State museums.  Museum Marketplace  Search the marketplace to find consultants and industry partners to help with your advertising, exhibit design, website/social media channels, collections storage, shipping, event management, conservation, and more! News Updates from the desk of our Executive Director. Events Check our event pages for updates on Meet Ups and workshops as we gather members across the state and in your region.

One Week Left for Early Bird Registration!

Dear Members, Friends, and Colleagues, Take a look at your appointment calendar for next week. Don’t see time set aside to register for MANY’s annual conference? Squeeze 15 minutes between meetings and don’t miss out! There is just one week left for you to take advantage of our early bird registration rate. Come to Rochester, April 8-10 to join the conversation about “Visioning Change” for the future of New York museums and cultural institutions. Click here to register today!

See you in Rochester! Erika Sanger Executive Director

February 7, 2018

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Members,

Yesterday Sheila Healy, MANY’s government relations consultant, and I had the opportunity to attend the Assembly’s Education Committee meeting chaired by Assembly member Catherine Nolan. Guest speaker MaryEllen Elia, Commissioner of Education, shared her 2018 budget priorities and fielded member questions. We then met with Museum Education Act (A.3892A/S.1676A) sponsors, Assembly Member Matt Titone and Senator Betty Little.

The MEA is in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and will be on the agenda for vote next week in the Senate’s Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Committee. If your Legislative representative is on the Senate’s Cultural Affairs Committee or the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee, it would significantly help our efforts to pass the MEA if you could take a moment before the end of this week to ask them to support the MEA by co-sponsoring the bill and signing on to Assembly member Titone’s budget letter.

Not sure you know your representatives? Use MANY’s member map to check.

We will soon be adding new advocacy tools to our website, including the data from 96 museums and an executive summary from our museum education program survey. Even if your legislator is not on the above-mentioned committees, we need you to speak out on behalf of the MEA.

The message is simple:

• New York State’s museums provide community learning opportunities that share our state’s history, art, and culture.

• 90% of museums in New York State dedicate at least 10% of their operating budgets to education programs but limited resources are a significant obstacle to growth.

• Museums would substantially increase the number of students served if funding was available to support reduced admission fees, bus transportation, web-based curricula, and teacher training.

• The Museum Education Act would provide funds for these activities as well as partnerships with community-based organizations and higher educationinstitutions.

Please be sure to tell your legislators what you do in your museums to work with your communities and your schools. It is important that we help them understand the critical role museums play as community anchors.

Thank you in advance for taking time to help us advance the MEA!