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The Parrish Receives IMLS Grant to Support and Expand Access Programs
Grant Allows Museum to Further Outreach to Community
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Parrish educator, Wendy Gottlieb, in the galleries with participants
from Stony Brook Southampton Hospital’s Cancer Wellness Program
WATER MILL, NY 9/6/2023 – The Parrish Art Museum announced today that it is the recipient of a $198,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The Museum will evaluate, improve, and expand Access Parrish, an existing gallery experience and art-making program that serves individuals with special needs, including cognitive diverse individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, individuals on the autism spectrum, people with physical disabilities, and people who have experienced severe trauma.
Access Parrish empowers people through experiential learning opportunities that make the Parrish accessible to our region’s most underserved, under-invited, vulnerable, marginalized and isolated populations. It has reached more than 500 individuals to date and has expanded over time to include partnerships with incarcerated women and victims of domestic violence—both highly overlooked populations.
“We are thrilled to be the recipient of an IMLS grant,” said Monica Ramirez-Montagut, Director of the Parrish Art Museum. “To date, we have not offered Access Parrish directly to the general public, as program participants currently come almost exclusively from our partner organizations. As the Museum continues to emerge successfully from 3 years of pandemic-based disruptions, the timing is right to turbocharge Access Parrish and serve a broader audience.”
The Parrish will work with an external evaluator to develop an evaluation plan as well as a community advisory panel with members from the program’s target audiences and partnering human service agencies to guide the project. Program evaluation will support the development and expansion of future community-informed museum programming to serve a wider audience and will leverage lessons learned to improve the museum’s overall service to special audiences in all of its programs.
A participant in Access Parrish’s partnership with the Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center.
“As pillars of our communities, libraries and museums bring people together by providing important programs, services, and collections. These institutions are trusted spaces where people can learn, explore and grow,” said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper. “IMLS is proud to support their initiatives through our grants as they educate and enhance their communities.”
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The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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The Parrish Art Museum strives to illuminate the creative process, casting light on how art transforms our experience and understanding of the world in which we live. The Museum fosters connections between individuals, art, and artists through the care and interpretation of the collection, as well as the presentation of exhibitions, publications, educational initiatives, and programs. A center for cultural engagement with a focus on the East End of Long Island, the Parrish is a source of inspiration and a destination for the region, the nation, and the world.
www.parrishart.org
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AAQ / Resource: Westhampton Architectural Glass
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