Sandy Spring Museum Inc

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING, AND MISCELLANEOUS GRANTS

THE SANDY SPRING MUSEUM’S REGIONAL FOLKLIFE CENTER WILL COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL FOLK ARTISTS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES TO SUSTAIN AND ADVANCE THE FOLK ARTS OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SPECIFIC ARTISTS AND COMMUNITIES, THE MUSEUM WILL ORGANIZE MOCOLORE, A TRADITIONAL ARTS SERIES TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT EACH COMMUNITY’S HISTORY AND CULTURE. THE MUSEUM WILL ALSO INTEGRATE 130 FOLK ARTISTS, THE MAJORITY OF WHOM ARE BIPOC (BLACK, INDIGENOUS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR) AND IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY MEMBERS, INTO FOUR OF ITS MOST-ATTENDED ANNUAL EVENTS. PARTNERING ARTISTS WILL RECEIVE FREE USE OF THE MUSEUM’S DIGITAL FOLKLIFE LAB AND LIBRARY, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATIVE AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT SERVICES. THE PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF UNDERSERVED FOLK ARTISTS AND FOLK ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND GENERATE A GREATER DEGREE OF SOCIAL COHESION AMONG MONTGOMERY COUNTY’S RESIDENTS.

THE SANDY SPRING MUSEUM WILL CONNECT FOLK ARTISTS TO PUBLIC AUDIENCES THROUGH THE FOLK ARTIST ENTERPRISE INITIATIVE, A PROGRAM TO SUPPORT FOLK ARTISTS AS ENTREPRENEURS. PROJECT STAFF WILL CONDUCT OUTREACH TO EXPAND ITS EXISTING NETWORK OF FOLK ARTISTS, WITH A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THOSE FROM MARGINALIZED OR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES. PARTICIPATING ARTISTS WILL BE INVITED TO COLLABORATIVELY DEVELOP PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS AND SERVICES FOR WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS THAT THE MUSEUM WILL PROMOTE AND HOST IN ITS RENTAL SPACE. THROUGH INCREASING EXPOSURE AND PROVIDING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR EARNED INCOME, THE MUSEUM WILL ENABLE FOLK ARTISTS TO SHARE THEIR TRADITIONAL ARTS, BENEFITTING THEM FINANCIALLY, ARTISTICALLY, AND SOCIALLY.

MUSEUMS FOR AMERICA

SANDY SPRING MUSEUM WILL EXPAND, IMPROVE AND CREATE A REPLICABLE MODEL OF PRESENTING COMMUNITY-GENERATED CONTENT IN A MUSEUM SETTING. THE PROJECT WILL INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY TO CREATE AND HOST EVENTS, PERFORMANCES, ACTIVITIES AND EXHIBITS, MANY OF WHICH PRESENT A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE ON LOCAL HISTORY. THE MUSEUM WILL HIRE A PART-TIME OUTREACH COORDINATOR TO WORK WITH OTHER STAFF MEMBERS, AN EXTERNAL EVALUATOR, AND BOTH EXISTING AND NEW PARTNERS TO DEVELOP A WIDE VARIETY OF COMMUNITY-GENERATED EXHIBITS, WORKSHOPS, AND PROGRAMS. THE PROJECT TEAM WILL DESIGN, TEST, AND REFINE A SYSTEM FOR STANDARDIZING A FINANCIALLY STABLE COMMUNITY-GENERATED CONTENT MODEL WHICH CAN BE SHARED WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS.

SANDY SPRING MUSEUM WILL COMPREHENSIVELY REBUILD THE DATABASE OF THE MUSEUM?S COLLECTION AND ADDRESS HISTORICAL INEQUITIES IN THE MUSEUM?S COLLECTING PRACTICES. SOCIAL CONTEXT FOR THE COLLECTION WILL BE CREATED BY CONNECTING ARTIFACTS WITH THEIR CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (AN ASSOCIATED PERSON, GROUP OF PEOPLE, PLACE, OR ACTIVITY). THIS PROCESS WILL HELP IDENTIFY STORIES THAT ARE MISSING FROM THE MUSEUM?S COLLECTION. IN ADDITION, A COLLECTIONS DEVELOPMENT PLAN WILL BE CREATED, ARTICULATING WHICH STORIES FROM THE DEMOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE MUSEUM COMMUNITY SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE COLLECTION. THE PLAN WILL HONOR THE SANDY SPRING AREA?S EARLY EURO-AMERICAN SETTLERS WHILE ALSO GIVING VOICE TO THE EARLY FREE AND ENSLAVED BLACK COMMUNITIES, AND THE ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS MINORITIES WHO HAVE MOVED TO THE COMMUNITY SINCE THE 1980S.

MAKING DIGITAL CONTENT ACCESSIBLE

SANDY SPRING MUSEUM, THE STATE-DESIGNATED REGIONAL FOLKLIFE CENTER OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND, WILL FUND STAFF TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH FOLK ARTISTS, SHARING RESOURCES TO HELP THEM BUILD THEIR CAPACITY, SUSTAIN THEIR FOLK TRADITIONS, AND FOSTER SOCIAL COHESION IN THE CHALLENGING SOCIOECONOMIC CLIMATE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THE MUSEUM WILL CONTINUE WORK IT BEGAN IN 2014 TO PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED BY ARTISTS, AS WELL AS GIVE ARTISTS A PUBLIC VENUE FOR SHARING THEIR ART. THE COLLABORATING FOLK ARTISTS ARE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY IMMIGRANTS, PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND MEMBERS OF UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, AND NONE HAVE PAID STAFF OR THEIR OWN FACILITY. THE SANDY SPRING MUSEUM PROGRAM ALLOWS THESE ARTISTS TO SHARE THEIR CULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS WITH AUDIENCES WHO WOULD NOT OTHERWISE HAVE ACCESS TO THEM, FOSTER CROSS-CULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND INCREASE THE MUSEUM'S IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY.

THE SANDY SPRING MUSEUM WILL REDRESS HISTORICAL INEQUITIES IN ITS CATALOGING PRACTICES BY ENHANCING THE METADATA USED TO DESCRIBE MATERIALS IN ITS ARCHIVAL RECORDS. THE PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO UNLOCK THE BLACK HISTORY OF THE REGION, WHICH IS NOT READILY AVAILABLE DUE TO PAST RECORDKEEPING PRACTICES. THE MUSEUM WILL HIRE A METADATA ASSOCIATE TO WORK WITH ITS ARCHIVES AND RECORDS MANAGER AND A COMMUNITY SUBJECT MATTER SPECIALIST TO UNCOVER FAMILY HISTORIES, APPLY PAGE-LEVEL METADATA, AND TRANSCRIBE MATERIALS. THE PROJECT WILL ALLOW PEOPLE SEARCHING FOR BLACK HISTORY IN THE MUSEUM’S ARCHIVES TO ACCESS PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN INFORMATION ABOUT THE LOCAL BLACK COMMUNITY, SUCH AS LABOR REMUNERATION, SPECIALIZED SKILLS, HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE ACCESS, AND INFORMAL ECONOMIES. THE MUSEUM’S ENTIRE DIGITAL COLLECTION WILL CONTINUE TO BE AVAILABLE ON A COLLABORATIVE STATEWIDE DIGITAL PRESERVATION PROGRAM.

NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANTS - MUSEUMS

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT THE INTEGRATION OF TRADITIONAL ARTISTS INTO THE MUSEUM'S ANNUAL STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL.

PURPOSE: TO SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR STAFF WORKING AT FOLKLIFE ORGANIZATIONS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY MARYLAND.

TO SUPPORT GENERAL OPERATING COSTS IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.