George Lucas Family Foundation Awards Norman Rockwell Museum $500K

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STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Norman Rockwell Museum has received a two-year, $500,000 grant from the George Lucas Family Foundation to expand and re-imagine the museum’s educational programming with 21st century learning tools.

“The generosity of the George Lucas Family Foundation will help us expand the museum’s existing educational programming, and enhance and build out our online content delivery system,” said Laurie Norton Moffatt, Norman Rockwell Museum's director and CEO. “We are grateful for the opportunity to reach new generations of learners, who can engage with Norman Rockwell’s timeless and universal messages through new tools available today.”

The gift supports a larger two-year, $2 million universal access campaign to bring Norman Rockwell’s work, legacy and commitment to human rights to larger and diverse audiences.

“Access is at the heart of this initiative, and we are thankful to our lead funder, the George Lucas Family Foundation, who understands the significance of our undertaking,” Norton Moffatt said.

The grant from the George Lucas Family Foundation will provide the museum with the opportunity to re-imagine its national education offerings, building upon the long-established educational curricula to make it compatible with Common Core and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) standards. In addition, the museum will modernize its online content delivery system to reach a larger and more diverse population of students, teachers, and life-long learners.


Since opening its doors in 1969, six million people have visited Norman Rockwell Museum; 2 million more have experienced the collections online. In 1993, on-site educational programs were first offered to local schools near the museum’s home in Stockbridge. Today, hundreds of thousands of school-aged children and teachers have benefited from an array of on-site offerings, such as family festivals, art exhibitions for youth, immersive programs for visiting school groups, and nationally through curricula for grades K through 12, accessible online at http://www.nrm.org and delivered through the museum’s traveling exhibitions.

The partnership between the museum and Mr. Lucas evolved from two shared beliefs:

* First, that Rockwell’s art transcends generations and cultures, communicating timeless American ideals of service to community, family, human rights, and civic responsibility.

* Second, that quality museum programming enriches today’s school-based educational offerings, connects people to their communities, and serves as a tool for broadening cultural awareness.

“It was Norman Rockwell’s wish that his collection be used to educate and engage the broadest of audiences,” Norton Moffatt said. “Support from the George Lucas Family Foundation brings us that much closer to achieving Norman’s wish.”

 


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Simon's Rock Awarded Freedom to Read Grant

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a Freedom to Read Grant by the Newburger Schwartz Family Foundation. 
 
The grant was awarded to support the Alumni Library and Bard Queer Leadership Project in building a more robust collection of queer scholarship, starting a Queer Book Club, and hosting Drag Story Time events in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires.
 
According to a press release:
 
In response to current educational threats with book bans affecting schools and libraries across the country and further proposed legislation against LGBTQ+ people's access to basic rights and education, Simon's Rock is actively seeking to create inclusive and equitable spaces for queer individuals. 
 
The Bard Queer Leadership Project and Alumni Library will utilize the grant funding to expand the library's current collection of queer books in order to fully enable the longevity of the Queer Book Club and the Bard Queer Leadership Project. The Queer Book Club will be an intergenerational space, open to local middle school students through rainbow seniors and will partner with local community organizations, to discuss queer books and learn about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. Bard Queer Leadership Project students will eventually help lead this initiative as part of their leadership project training. 
 
The Queer Book Club will host their first meeting on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Alumni Library, with following meetings on April 27 and May 11. This semester, the selected books are "Obie is Man Enough" and "He/She/They," both by Schuyler Bailar, inspirational speaker and first openly transgender NCAA Division swimmer, who was a guest speaker in the inaugural Queer Leaders Vision Forum in fall 2023 at Simon's Rock. Schuyler Bailar will return to campus for a book signing and pool party at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. Participants in the Queer Book Club will receive a free copy of either book of their choice. 
 
The first Drag Story Time will be on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Simon's Rock Alumni Library and is open to all LGBTQ+ affirming individuals. The event is in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires with local drag queens JV and Poppy DaBubbly. The second Drag Story Time will be Saturday, April 27 with drag queen Poppy DaBubbly and drag king Sativo Green.
 
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