Springfield City Council allocates $40.8M to art museum and park improvements

Registering taonga in museum collections is essential and 101. Yet our past practices show this isn’t always the case. N.P.R = Not Previously Registered. Not Previously Researched. Not Previously Reconnected.

Bill Alert! US House Bill HR 1945 - America's National Churchill Museum National Historic Landmark Act Policy: Public Lands and Natural Resources Status: Bill Introduced Full Details: https://lnkd.in/gYurXECk Bill 119 HR 1945, also known as the "America's National Churchill Museum National Historic Landmark Act," aims to designate the America's National Churchill Museum as a National Historic Landmark. The museum, located in Fulton, Missouri, is dedicated to preserving the legacy of Sir Winston Churchill, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The bill seeks to recognize the historical significance of the museum and its importance in educat...

The Wadsworth has announced that it will restore its Wednesday hours for the first time since the pandemic, thanks to a $1M grant from Travelers. The grant, which will span across five years, enables America’s oldest public art museum to expand from four to five days of public access each week. Read entire story: https://lnkd.in/e7UXViKe

Been thinking about this a lot over the past 24 hours. This is so bad for the city of Chicago. A city of great diversity and of great museums. But a city that struggles, like so many others, to make everyone of the city feel like they belong in museums. I taught at DePaul for a short while and was so impressed with the way it serves a student body that truly looks like Chicago, in all its diverse majesty. The DPAM was an access point for all those students to see and feel welcome in a museum they may otherwise not feel is for them. Instead of seeing lack of engagement as an opportunity and a challenge, it seems the trustees saw this as a failing. And in my opinion, that failure is not one of the Museum but of the University. And ultimately, this failure will greatly and negatively impact Chicago, its institutions, and its people. I hope that it can still yet be reversed. That the trustees will come to understand the importance of the opportunity they have here. But that hope is despite all the trends we're seeing in society right now.

As an alumni it hurts me to learn this. When austerity comes the arts are always first to go. As if this work is not critical to building and maintaining a more just society. As an arts leader I feel deep frustration when institutions of this size, with a public, civic or intellectual mandate, fail to keep art spaces alive. When reflecting on more than 20 years working in arts administration and leadership in Chicago, I often find that when moments like this occur, it was the culmination of a series of failures of strategy, leadership and imagination.

It is incredibly difficult to see another museum close its doors, but it hits differently when it’s a university art museum. These spaces aren't just galleries; they are essential hubs for research, community gathering, and critical thinking. In these uncertain times for the cultural sector, advocacy isn't just a "nice to do"—it’s a necessity. We must champion the value these institutions bring to education and the public before more of them disappear.

💥 The Chilliwack Arts Council is partnering with Chilliwack Museum & Archives for a new project: Windows Artist Residency 🔎 The CM+A Window Residency reimagines the museum façade as a living gallery where contemporary artists activate the historic building and invite the community to encounter art in everyday space. Through site-responsive window works, artists explore connections between people, place, and shared memory in a highly visible public setting. 🗒️ Applications open until April 10th: https://lnkd.in/g36TRX_k

Before building Synthesis, part of our initial research was simply asking our fellow designers where they started when they built their most inspired works. Many said that they began that journey at a museum. I am very excited to offer that exact starting place within Synthesis. No matter where you are located, you can now begin your visual research by looking through almost 500,000 pieces from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This is a big one. We’ve added 500,000+ pieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection into Synthesis. Not just as “content” but as structured, searchable, reusable reference. The interesting part isn’t the volume. It’s what this unlocks: Creative teams don’t have to start from scratch anymore. EVER. They can build on centuries of context, instantly. This is the layer we’re focused on. Building infrastructure, not just output. Excited to keep pushing this forward 😎

On Monday February 23, City Council unanimously approved $30 million over two years for the Springfield Art Museum’s renovation — a major milestone for our community. Funding comes from the voter-approved Spring Forward SGF sales tax, which dedicates ½ cent to neighborhood, street, and park improvements through the Forward SGF Comprehensive Plan. As part of that vision, this funding will allow the long-planned project to move directly forward, completing museum upgrades that support arts access, education, and cultural tourism. We can't wait to see you back at the Museum in 2028! A heartfelt thank you to the City of Springfield, City Councilmembers and Mayor Schrag for their ongoing support of the Museum's mission and service to the community. City of Springfield, Missouri Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gTKdUD6y