The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has approved a Challenge America award of $10,000 to the Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library. This funding will be utilized for exhibitions and outreach initiatives centered around LGBTQIA+ voices, with a specific focus on BIPOC, women, and transgender individuals. The NEA has announced a total of 257 Challenge America awards amounting to $2,570,000 in its initial round of fiscal year 2024 grants.
“The NEA is delighted to announce this grant to Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library, which is helping contribute to the strength and well-being of the arts sector and local community,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “We are pleased to be able to support this community and help create an environment where all people have the opportunity to live artful lives.”
“We are pleased to have received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to continue to support our series of exhibits highlighting the voices of the most marginalized people in our society,” said Robert Kesten, Executive Director, Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library. “These voices add a great deal to the conversation and give us insight into what a world might look like where all of us are equal and all our contributions are valued,” added Kesten.
The objective of Amplifying LGBTQIA+ Voices: Celebrating Our Stories program is to expand the participation and inclusion of the often-marginalized community members within the LGBTQIA+ community such as BIPOC, women and transgender individuals. Sharing culture and exposure to the arts is an important way of reaching communities within our community and the outside world. That exposure, tied to history, is the best way we must fight hate and prejudice.
There is a marked lack of representation of LGBTQIA+ stories in history particularly those of BIPOC, women, and transgender individuals. Like other marginalized groups and minorities, the LGBTQIA+ community’s contributions and accomplishments were often not recognized or documented in the history books. The history of the LGBTQIA+ people was many times overlooked, misrepresented, or deliberately excluded. The key to understanding is increasing the visibility of these stories and to make the information accessible to all members of the community and visitors alike.
