November 24, 2021
ADVOCACY

Pennsylvania's elections next year for Governor and for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Pat Toomey are dominating the news cycle. With only a few session days left in the calendar year, Pennsylvania's lawmakers are unlikely to provide any surprises. Last week Senator Jake Corman (R-Centre) announced he is running for the Republican nomination in the gubernatorial race, and rumors have abounded about former Speaker of House Mike Turzai's doing the same, reported here by ABC27. Sean Parnell, a candidate in the race for U.S. Senate, has suspended his campaign in that crowded contest.

PA Museums is on the lookout for news around museums and funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Some funding from the American Rescue Plan is still being decided upon at local government levels, and the awardees for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council's SHARP grants have not yet been announced. On November 18 the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced its second round of ARP grants to local arts agencies for re-granting, and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council and Erie Arts and Culture were among those named to receive awards. In early 2022 it's expected that the final third round of NEA ARP grants, to state arts agencies, will be announced.


MUSEUMS ADVOCACY DAY

PA Museums asks for your support for this work on the national level in advocating for museums. Most of our advocacy work is directed towards state and local issues in Pennsylvania, and this work in Washington, D.C. is important, too. Representing a state with a large number of museums receiving a significant level of federal funding from various agencies, PA Museums connects with Museums Advocacy Day attendees, organizes and helps prepare advocates from Pennsylvania, and meets with lawmakers and legislative staffers. Please consider making a donation to PA Museums to support our leadership in Washington, D.C. at Museums Advocacy Day.

We encourage our members to participate in the American Alliance of Museums' Museums Advocacy Day, February 28-March 1, 2022. It is critical that museum advocates have an opportunity to meet with lawmakers and press our case for support. We expect this to be another critical year of advocating for museums and cultivating key Congressional champions who are in position to help our cause. We encourage our members to save the date and plan to participate either in person or from your home museum.
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SUPPORT FOR YOUR MUSEUM

The American Historical Association's Grants to Sustain and Advance the Work of Historical Organizations Program provides $2.5 million to support dozens of small history-related organizations adversely affected by the pandemic. These grants, ranging from $10,000 to $75,000, fund short-term projects that explore new ideas or build on experiments initiated during the pandemic—from virtual programming or online publications to using new technologies or expanding audiences and accessibility.

The deadline to apply is December 14, 2021. Please click here to learn more.


The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced a new $3.5 million program, Telling the Full History. The program goal is to sustain diverse cultural sites of importance to underrepresented communities, especially those that have been critically impacted during pandemic closures.

The program opened on November 1, 2021 with applications due December 15, 2021. Please click here to learn more.
PA MUSEUMS IN THE NEWS

GoErie reported that Erie may become the home of a Navy warship as a new floating museum.

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania talked with ABC in Philadelphia about a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

Congratulations to the Pearl S. Buck House on the honor of accreditation through AAM.

WITF's SmartTalk hosted a panel discussion around the history of the Carlisle Indian School.

PhillyVoice featured Thanksgiving weekend happenings at the Museum of the American Revolution.

WTAE in Pittsburgh covered the Senator John Heinz History Center's Very Merry Pittsburgh exhibit.

On October 26, 2021 the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) notified PA Museums that the association was awarded a grant in its American Rescue Plan program for our project, Qualifying Diversity. We have posted more information about this program, and we invite you to take a look.
MEMBERSHIP

Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm is looking for an Executive Director. If your organization is looking to fill any open positions, please send us your announcements.

We recently updated our listings of upcoming webinars and other programs that may be of interest. Please check them out.

PA Museums appreciates the support of our membership. Thank you for renewing or joining today to support your statewide museum association!
RECOMMENDED

Artsnet published a story about art museum director vacancies.

The Atlantic explored Manhattan's Antiquities Trafficking Unit.

Colleen Dilenschneider shared data about the median income of visitors to cultural organizations last week.

PA Museums' Accessibility Excellence Project Manager, Jenny Angell, joined Ability in Motion's Disability Talks podcast.