With growing losses caused by ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and recurring lockdowns, many art museums around the world are facing a crisis. Recent studies by UNESCO and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) have revealed that 13% of museums worldwide may not survive the impact of the pandemic. In the United States, nearly a third of all museums are at risk of closing, according to an October survey by the Alliance of American Museums. At this critical time, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is distributing additional COVID-19 Emergency Grants totaling $3 million to small, struggling arts and cultural institutions across the United States.
In one declaration Today, December 16, the foundation announced that a second round of grants from its Art Museum Futures Fund will help 14 smaller art museums “with strong, long-standing commitments to local community and justice. social”.
In its first round of grants in September, the Art Museum Futures Fund distributed nearly $24 million to 12 mid-sized U.S. institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, El Museo del Barrio, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Pérez Art Museum and others. .
This time, the grants will support organizations such as the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in New York; the El Paso Museum of Art in Austin, Texas; the California African American Museum in Los Angeles; and the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, among others. The grants will be used to support the general operation of these establishments, which are struggling to pay their bills.
“America’s small arts and cultural institutions support their communities by providing access to transformative and far-reaching artistic contributions while preserving many different histories and cultural legacies,” said Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation, in a statement. declaration. “As the pandemic continues to threaten the future viability of museums that have long been under-resourced, we must do our part to build support for these organizations and the tireless hard work they undertake to enrich and expand our American history. “
See the full list of supported organizations below:
- Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, Maine
- Art Museum and Visual Arts Program at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- African American Museum of California, Los Angeles, California
- El Paso Art Museum, Texas
- Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York
- Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts, Michigan
- Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York
- Mexico-Arte Museum, Austin, Texas
- New Britain Museum of American Art, Connecticut
- African American Museum of New Orleans, Louisiana
- Riverside Art Museum, California
- San Jose Art Museum, California
- Tucson Art Museum, Arizona
