WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo today announced that three Rhode Island organizations are set to receive $134,000 in federal grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ (IMLS) Inspire! Grants for Small Museums program.

The federal funds will help Newport Historical Society, the Tomaquag Museum, and Providence College Galleries carry out various projects meant to increase offerings for visitors, significantly improve accessibility, and provide specialized training for museum staff and mentorship opportunities for local youth artists.  

The federal grants were made possible under the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018 (Public Law No: 115-410), authored by Senator Reed, which authorizes up to $299 million annually through 2025 to advance the roles of libraries and museums in education, lifelong learning, historic preservation, and workforce development. 

“These local museums help trace our heritage, understand our culture, and preserve our history.  I’m proud to deliver federal investments to help these institutions protect, preserve, and make accessible stories that are unique to Rhode Island and bring them to a wider audience,” said Senator Reed, who last year hosted the director of IMLS, Crosby Kemper, in Rhode Island to visit the headquarters of the Newport Historical Society. “This $134,000 in federal funding will help Newport Historical Society, the Tomaquag Museum, and Providence College Galleries to offer and expand some exciting and illuminating exhibits.”

“Rhode Island’s museums play an important role in educating the public and preserving our state’s history,” said Whitehouse.  “This federal funding will help three Ocean State gems – the Tomaquag Museum, the Newport Historical Society, and Providence College – create and expand exhibits while making programming more accessible to Rhode Islanders.”

“It is vital that we preserve the rich history and culture of Rhode Island,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner. “Local museums play an important role in elevating the voices and highlighting the stories of Rhode Island’s many communities, and this federal funding will be used in furtherance of that mission.”

“Museums help us acknowledge and understand our past,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “I’m excited that this federal funding announcement will help our Newport Historical Society hire a full-time researcher to compile the records of African, African-American, and Indigenous peoples who lived and worked on Aquidneck Island during the era of slavery. This will not only help local residents learn more about their ancestors, but it will help inform our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade as we work to build a tolerant and inclusive community for all.”

The Newport Historical Society was awarded $75,000 for its project entitled, Newport’s Black and Indigenous: Enslaved Manumitted & Free Database, which began in 2021. The organization will leverage the grant award and an additional $75,085 in matching funds to hire a full-time research assistant to continue work on its database of records representing black and Indigenous individuals. So far, the project has identified more than 1,700 names in archived documents. The next stage of the initiative will include digitization of records for increased accessibility and the creation of biographies of African, African American, and Indigenous people who lived and worked in Newport during the era of slavery. Once complete, the resources will be available to the public through the society’s online database, allowing researchers and the community to better understand Newport’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and serve as a tool for descendant communities to research their ancestors.

The Tomaquag Museum was awarded $34,200 to undertake its Mishoon Project to create an interactive outdoor exhibition of a mishoon, a dugout canoe traditionally used by Southeastern New England’s Indigenous Tribes. The museum will also contribute $42,172 in matching funds to implement the new exhibit. As part of the project, museum staff will select up to ten Native youth artists to learn traditional mishoon-making skills. The museum will contract with a specialized exhibition design firm and Wampanoag Tribal artisan who will build the mishoon, provide educational training for staff, and mentor youth artists. The project will result in hands-on training for Indigenous youth, training for museum staff, and the creation of a weatherized, outdoor mishoon exhibit, benefiting staff, the tribes of southern New England, and visitors.

Providence College was awarded $24,820 to expand upon a previous IMLS funded project entitled, Alt-Text Connects: Expanding Access to Providence College Galleries and its Collection. The college will utilize the federal grant to expand digital access to its collections and strengthen engagement with disabled members of the community. Project activities include training staff in Universal Design Learning principles and Alt-Text captions in order to create accessible captioning for more than 850 images on the galleries’ website and art collection database.

The Inspire! Grants for Small Museums is a special initiative of the Museums for America program designed to support small museums of all disciplines in project-based efforts to serve the public through exhibitions and programming. This year IMLS has awarded 78 grants through the program for a total of $3,324,571.