Amistad Center Receives Prestigious Grant to Support Education Programs

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture is one of only 12 museums in the nation – and the only one in Connecticut – to receive a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS), as part of the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture program for fiscal year 2014. There were 32 applications for the awards from museum organizations across the country.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums.

The prestigious $141,210 two-year grant, which runs through June 2016, includes the hiring by the Amistad Center of an education associate to help build the organization’s staff capacity in order to sustain, expand, and enrich interpretive, educational, and its community engagement programs.

The newly hired education associate will develop visitor-centered interpretive programs using the museum’s collections and exhibition scholarship, as well as manage educational programs for adults and children based on the art and culture of people of African descent.

In addition, an evaluation consultant will help identify the museum’s audiences, assess current programs, and incorporate evaluative systems into new initiatives to inform program development and decision-making.

The Amistad Center was described by IMLS project reviewers as “an important local resource,” indicating that “the design of this project is impressive and has the potential to serve as a model for new program development model for museums.” It was also noted that “this project will provide excellent opportunities to increase the quantity and quality of program offerings to the African American community.”

Nationwide, IMLS selected 12 museum organizations to receive a total of $1.4 million in funding, based on peer review evaluations assessing the merit of each proposal and its fit with the goals of the grant program and project category.

“The African American History and Culture grants have been strengthening museums in the United States since 2006,” said IMLS Director Susan Hildreth. “With these grants, African American institutions will improve the care of their collections, provide professional training to staff, and expand career opportunities in the museum field through internships and fellowships.”

“We are honored and grateful to be selected for this grant, which will enable us to reinvigorate efforts to extend our mission of education across the community,” said Amistad Center Executive Director Olivia S. White. “We take very seriously the commitment to provide high caliber education programs that invoke a sense of history and a meaningful context for the challenges and opportunities we face in today’s society. This grant will strengthen our capacity to achieve those objectives.”

Museum Grants for African American History and Culture are intended to enhance institutional capacity and sustainability through professional training, technical assistance, internships, outside expertise, and other tools. Successful proposals focus on one or more of the following three goals: (1) developing or strengthening knowledge, skills, and other expertise of current staff at African American museums; (2) attracting and retaining professionals with the skills needed to strengthen African American museums; and (3) attracting new staff to African American museum practice and providing them with the expertise needed to sustain them in the museum field.

“Engaging the community is an important aspect of our initiatives, and we look forward to pursuing innovative and significant programs that will bring people together to learn more about our history and our potential,” said Dr. Wm. Frank Mitchell, Assistant Director and Curator at The Amistad Center. “To be selected for this prestigious award is humbling and energizing.”

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture, founded in 1987, owns and exhibits a vital collection of 7,000 works of art, artifacts and popular culture objects that documents the experience, expressions and history of people of African descent in America.

The Amistad Center is an independently incorporated and managed not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization, located in the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art - a “museum within a museum,” enjoying a unique institutional relationship that facilitates rich cross-cultural conversations between art and audiences.

The Amistad Center is not related to the many other organizations in Connecticut and across the country who share the name Amistad. Amistad is a popular choice as it remembers a significant event and calls to mind African American strength and history. For more information about The Amistad Center for Art & Culture please visit the website at www.amistadartandculture.org or call 860-838-4133.

The mission of the Institute of Museum and Library Services is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. The IMLS grant making, policy development, and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow IMLS on Facebook and Twitter.