Newport Art Museum Awarded $10,938
Grant by Institute of Museum and Library Services
(Newport, RI – September 18, 2014) – Today, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded $10,938 to the Newport Art Museum. The Museum will use the grant funds to broaden the impact of its successful MUSE program.
The MUSE program promotes interest in museum careers among area high school students, through site visits, engagement with professional staff and artists, and exhibition preparation training. Since its inception in 2003, over 550 students have been reached. The program currently works with the Rhode Island Department of Education to provide in-school career training opportunities to three public high schools. With IMLS funding, the Museum will expand the program to the remaining high schools on Aquidneck Island as well as a regional high school in a neighboring community. MUSE will be offered as an arts elective in over ten cities and towns in southern Rhode Island. Additional program expansion plans include increasing the number of paid internships offered each summer and the creation of a Museum Career Fair at the Newport Art Museum.
“Our grants are highly competitive. The Institute of Museum and Library Services enlists hundreds of library and museum professionals throughout the United States to review grant applications and make recommendations on projects most worthy of funding,” said IMLS Director Susan H. Hildreth. “Receiving a grant from IMLS is significant achievement, and we congratulate the Newport Art Museum for being among the 2014 IMLS museum grantees.”
IMLS museum grants support a wide variety of projects that create learning experiences, strengthen communities, care for collections and provide broad public access.
“We have grown the now ten year old MUSE program, bringing Newport County high school students to meet museum, cultural, and historic preservation professionals at their institutions, creating tie-ins to school education,” explained MUSE Coordinator, Peter Dickison. “Our pathway to reaching MUSE to all the students in our region and provide internship opportunities to them lies in expanding the program to new schools and IMLS has provided us the means to make that a reality, fostering the next generation of museum professionals.”
A complete list of museum recipients is available on the IMLS website at www.imls.gov/2014MuseumList . For information about IMLS museum grant programs, see: www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx .
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services:The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. Our mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. Our 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 us on Facebook and Twitter.