FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2005

Contact: Sarah McGreer
sarah@maaa.org

Brown Foundation Contributions in Support of Small Texas Museums Reach $250,000

Mid-America Arts Alliance has received $100,000 from the Brown Foundation of Dallas, Texas, in support of the “Hands-on Experiential Learning Project” (HELP). HELP is a four-year, $1.4 million initiative to improve professional practices and advance institutional capacity at small Texas museums. The project is administered by Mid-America Arts Alliance and the Texas Association of Museums. This most recent gift brings the Brown Foundation’s total contribution to the project to $250,000.

HELP provides on-site customized training, peer networking, cooperative learning through the Internet, and regional workshops for 18 museums clustered in East Texas, the Gulf Coast, and the Panhandle Plains. With a goal of alleviating the root causes of small museum stagnation and decline, HELP is working to strengthen Texas institutions and improve the skills of museum staff.

“The Brown Foundation’s continued financial aid serves as a testament to the hard work and commitment shown by the HELP participants,” said Edana Elder McSweeney, Director of Professional Development for Mid-America Arts Alliance. “These institutions are experiencing tremendous successes. We are all very grateful that the Brown Foundation has continued to embrace and support our vision for the future of these small Texas museums.”

Over the course of four years, HELP will have generated seven traveling exhibitions (with accompanying educational, registrarial, and press materials), 72 exhibition installations at 18 museums, 12 orientation/evaluation meetings, and 12 booster-training meetings. In addition, HELP consultants and staff will have conducted 144 on-site consultations focusing on a variety of fields, including exhibition design, marketing, and fundraising. The project is currently entering its third year.

The Brown Foundation was established in 1951 by Margarett and Herman Brown and Alice and George R. Brown as a nonprofit charitable foundation. All funds donated to the foundation and income generated from these funds is used for public charitable purposes, principally for support, encouragement, and assistance to the arts and education. From 1951 to 1985, the Brown Foundation awarded grants in excess of $185 million to artistic, educational, medical, and other charitable organizations.

HELP receives additional support from The Meadows Foundation, Houston Endowment, Inc., The Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The mission of Mid-America Arts Alliance is to enrich communities through cultural experiences. Founded in 1972, Mid-America Arts Alliance is a nonprofit regional arts organization based in Kansas City, Missouri. It is governed by a board of directors drawn from its partner states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Major support is for Mid-America Arts Alliance is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, participant state arts agencies, and leading foundations and corporations. For further information, visit the Web site at www.maaa.org.

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