Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ (IMLS) Museums for America (MFA) program will award three projects in Maine’s First Congressional District with a combined $659,441 in grants and combined matching amounts of $415,175.

“Through my role on the House Appropriations Committee, I am proud to advocate for this vital arts funding to come back to Maine. Every federal dollar we invest in strengthening our cultural institutions yields economic growth for the surrounding communities,” Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine).

Museums for America is the IMLS’ largest discretionary grant program for museums. It supports projects that strengthen the ability of museums to serve the general public. Museums receiving awards in Maine’s First Congressional District include Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens for $249,422, First Amendment Museum for $249,500, and the Maine Maritime Museum for $160,519.

Pingree is Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, where she oversees funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is also co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus. 

Details of the three Museums for America grants are below:

Institution: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Award Amount: $249,422

Project Title: A Garden That Builds Community, a Community That Gardens: Growing Horticulture for a Sustainable Future

Project Description: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will implement a 36-month project, "A Garden That Builds Community, a Community That Gardens: Growing Horticulture for a Sustainable Future," aimed at expanding horticulture's role in the community. They will establish a community of practice to address an urgent regional community need for new career paths and trained recruits in sustainable horticulture. The Botanical Gardens will leverage its collections, staff, facilities, and partnerships to provide community- driven, co-created professional training in aspects of consumer horticulture and to create trusted spaces for community learning. The Botanical Gardens will leverage its collections, staff, facilities, and partnerships to provide community- driven, co-created professional training in aspects of consumer horticulture and to create trusted spaces for community learning. They will create three independent community catalyst tracks, focusing on Experiential Education for Youth, Advanced Studies in Horticulture for Landscapers, Design Professionals, and other Practitioners, and Community of Practice Development for Horticultural Therapy.

Institution: First Amendment Museum

Award Amount: $249,500

Matching Amount: $254,133

Project Title: Completing the Permanent Exhibition Design for the First Amendment Museum

Project Description: The First Amendment Museum will complete the design of a permanent exhibition offering visitors an opportunity to become aware of how they are using their First Amendment freedoms every day, to understand those freedoms, where they came from and how they work, and inspire visitors to exercise their freedoms consciously, intentionally, and effectively in their daily lives. The project will engage a consultant team in the developing of a permanent exhibition plan for 12 rooms of the historic Guy P. Gannett House, developing conceptual plan into final designs with complete graphic and multimedia treatments, including prototype production of multimedia components. The exhibition is intended to create a visitor experience that transcends the traditional notion of a historic house museum, leaves the furniture behind, and introduces visitors to a concept museum that is both instructive and inspirational.

Institution: Maine Maritime Museum

Award Amount: $160,519

Matching Amount: $161,042

Project Title: Principal Collections Storage Inventory, Documentation, and Assessment Project

Project Description: The Maine Maritime Museum plans to conduct a comprehensive inventory, cataloging, and digitization project in its principal collection storage space, which holds more than 9,000 objects. The project will provide the museum with substantially improved intellectual and physical control of a large portion of its object collection, resulting in increased access and improved collection care. A quality online catalog will increase public access to the collections, provide an opportunity to reach wider audiences, and expand collaborative opportunities with educators and cultural heritage organizations. Staff will be able to create programming more efficiently, and researchers will have access to a more robust and accommodating online database. The museum currently cares for more than 20,000 objects, over 2,000 linear feet of archival material, and thousands of reference materials.

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