Four Maine cultural institutions will be getting a total of about $700,000 in federal grants to help with various improvement projects, the office of Rep. Chellie Pingree announced Wednesday.
The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Museums for America program is awarding the grants to the Bowdoin College Museum of Art and Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum in Brunswick, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay and the William A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum in Rockland, Pingree’s office said in a news release.
The Bowdoin museums will get $239,344 to help fund a project to improve storage and access of physical and digital collections, while the Farnsworth will get $215,139 to help expand and enhance its Arts-in-Education program, which works with rural midcoast schools. The botanical gardens will be awarded $249,975 to help build a “learning hub” where visitors can access information about plants or garden topics, as well as a new nature space and improvements to the garden’s entrance.
The Museums for America Program is aimed at helping museums serve the general public. Pingree, D-1st District, who is co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus, said in the release that federal investment in the arts has been important in Maine over the years.
“In my lifetime, I’ve watched communities like Rockland transform into national arts and culture destinations. Federal investment is a big part of that,” Pingree said. “Every dollar we dedicate to making our arts scene more vibrant results in more cultural tourism for Maine.”
This story was updated at 5:45 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, to add the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum as a recipient.
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