Sustaining critical humanities positions at the strong national museum of play [the strong seeks NEH support to fill four key positions essential to the museum?s ability to execute…

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded a $300,300 Project Grant to the Strong National Museum of Play under the Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access program (CFDA 45.149). The grant will support the reinstatement of two positions at the museum that were eliminated during the pandemic - Conservator and Curator of Electronic Games. It will also create two new positions - an Artifact Photographer and a Research Specialist in Black Play and Culture. The Artifact Photographer will eliminate a backlog of 2,000 object photographs. The new Conservator will enable preservation of the museum's collection of over 515,000 play-related items. The Research Specialist will review collections and exhibits to identify opportunities to acquire new artifacts and create diverse programming related to Black play experiences. No subawards are associated with this award. The funding period is from November 1, 2021 to October 31, 2023.

Activities

?the & nbsp; newly created?position for a?research specialist for black play and culture?would respond to the museum?s mission to diversify its collections and interpretive activities.?this & nbsp; research specialist & nbsp; will review the museum?s current collections and exhibits to identify opportunities for new and diverse artifact acquisitions and exhibit displays,  develop online interpretive content through a series of museum blogs and an online exhibit. The person in this position will also & nbsp; play a critical role in the growth and interpretation of the collection.  the artifact photographer will & nbsp; eliminate the backlog of 2,000 objects.?the & nbsp; new & nbsp; conservator will enable the museum to preserve its humanities-based collection of 515,000+ items related to play and will be engaged in the preservation of historic cultural property through documentation, conservation treatment, and preventive care of large and small objects as well as electronic media and digital materials.  the curator of electronic games & nbsp; would & nbsp; fill a vacant position and & nbsp; interpret & nbsp; the museum?s collections & nbsp; of electronic games, some of which date back to before the 1970S. &nbsp

Expected outcomes

?  the & nbsp; new positions & nbsp; will & nbsp; expand the museum?s reach to key constituencies both online and locally in rochester & nbsp; as well as facilitate & nbsp; the daily operations of the museum & nbsp; and stewardship of its collections.&nbsp

Intended beneficiaries

  visitors & nbsp; to the museum, which & nbsp; welcomed nearly 600,000 visitors in 2019 before the pandemic,  will benefit from this grant. New exhibitions will & nbsp; serve & nbsp; future audiences to the museum & nbsp; while photographs of the collection and other activities will benefit scholars and researchers.&nbsp

Subrecipient activities

?the recipient does not intend to subaward funds. ]