Delaware Art Museum receives funding to increase access to the arts.
The Arkansas-based Art Bridges Foundation awards the Delaware Art Museum a three-year, $200,000 grant from its Access for All program, a 40 million dollar initiative that aims to expand access to American art in communities across the country.
The Delaware Art Museum was among 64 museums to receive one of the grants for between 56,000 and 2 million dollars.
Ian Mogavero is Chief Operating Officer with Art Bridges.
“Too many people experience too many barriers to exploring art. So whether it’s the cost of museum admission, or the lack of transportation or a language barrier, they’re finding systemic issues that don’t allow folks to get art in their lives and experience the power it can have for them.”
To date, the Art Bridges Foundation has funded more than 886 projects at over 232 museums. Art Bridges estimates its Access for All program has reached more than 5.3 million people nationally.
Delaware Art Museum Director of Advancement and External Affairs Amelia Wiggins says the grant comes at an opportune moment for the museum.
“The Delaware Art Museum is so grateful to Art Bridges for their generous grant of $200,000 a year over three years, which helps us continue offering free hours to our community during a time when we are seeing significant decline in corporate giving.”
The Delaware Art Museum plans to use its grant to offer additional free open access Thursday evenings at the museum featuring interdisciplinary arts programming.
Art Bridges’ Mogavero commends Delaware Art Museum’s planned use of the funds.
“I think Del Arts, thinking about their program, they’ll have additional free Thursdays, open access hours in the evening, but then also programming support, including engaging with the local community. That really spoke to the goals of the program which is to get folks who maybe aren't already at the museum to come and join and experience the exhibits that they have.”
Art Bridges estimates that the Access for All program has reached more than 5.3 million people nationally.
Delaware Public Media' s arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
