Grant Will Allow Museum to Reinstate Curatorial Positions
The Akron Art Museum was elated to learn in March that it was selected to receive a $55,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s American Art Renewal Fund to support a full-time assistant curator position and a part-time art handler position for one year each.
The Henry Luce Foundation developed the American Art Renewal Fund in response to the 2008 economic downturn and the critical need to strengthen American art activities at museums across the country. Effective through 2011, this short-term initiative, offered through the foundation’s American Art Program, provides support for operating expenses related to American art. Generally, the Henry Luce Foundation’s support focuses on research and scholarship, having provided more than $130 million to some 250 museums, universities and service organizations since 1982.
Needless to say, the museum’s curatorial department is ecstatic that two positions, eliminated in 2009 due to the economic downturn, will be reinstated through this special support. The Akron Art Museum received previous funding from the Henry Luce Foundation in the amount of $75,000 during the capital campaign to install American art in the new galleries.
As a beneficiary of this initiative, the Akron Art Museum salutes the impact that the Henry Luce Foundation’s American Art Renewal Fund has had on museums across the country as they strive to return to normal operating levels after a period of economic upheaval.
