California Museums Receive $19.7 Million in State Grants

Published Date:

SACRAMENTO – The California Natural Resources Agency today announced more than $19.7 million in funding awarded by the California Cultural and Historical Endowment to support 63 museum projects from San Diego to Shasta counties.

Funding will support small capital projects and programs in museums that have been severely affected by COVID-19 and that serve historically underserved communities or students subject to Title 1.

“California’s museums teach us about our state’s dynamic, diverse history and culture,” said California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “This funding will support projects across the state that lift up history and culture that has been underrepresented in the past and enable more people to learn these remarkable stories.”

Projects are from more than 25 counties and vary in scope. For example:

  • The Middletown Art Center in Lake County will receive $188,744 to conduct a yearlong program to connect the Latinx community through art, events. and education. The grant will fund the creation of a ceramic mural exhibit, field trips for 3,600 students, digital and physical curriculum materials, and temporary exhibits created by local and regional Latinx artists.
  • The Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco will receive $173,844 to provide the Chinese Culture Center educational tours for Title I students and underserved communities, prioritizing historically marginalized communities with limited exposure to Chinatown and its community history. The grants will cover the costs of admission, transportation and curriculum materials for teachers and students.
  • The Sierra Historic Sites Association in Madera County will receive $174,500 to develop new exhibits, create accessible videos, refurbish and restore parts of the Nathan Sweet Museum and provide updates to the website to make existing digital collections more accessible. The new exhibits will focus on presenting local indigenous communities' history and culture in their own words, the contributions of early Chinese immigrants in California, and the history of forest management, particularly fire ecology and indigenous cultural burning.
  • The Lompoc Unified School District in Santa Barbara County will receive $425,000 to support the Cabrillo High School Aquarium. Grant funding will allow the student-run museum to install an interactive exhibit about California’s rapidly disappearing ecosystem and the need to protect endangered habitat. The exhibit will also include bilingual interpretive signage.
  • The San Diego History Center will receive $500,000 to install a “Welcoming Our Diversity” digital mural in the atrium, as well as a permanent interactive virtual map exhibit focused on the diverse experiences of the people of San Diego. The grant will also allow for the creation of a History Council, a public engagement team that will generate program workshops, focus groups, sharing sessions and exhibits to help preserve the region’s history.

The full list of awards is as follows:

Alameda County:

  • Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, $500,000, Equal Access at Peralta Hacienda: Restarting School Programs and Transforming Exhibits.
  • Habitot Children's Museum, $148,383, Mobile Museum 2023.
  • Museum of Children's Art, $500,000, Reinventing MOCHA.

Contra Costa County:

  • Lindsay Wildlife Experience, $500,000, Nature Cove: Creating an Immersive Outdoor Exhibition.

Inyo County:

  • Eastern California Museum, $364,500, Re-imagine Eastern California Museum.

Kern County:

  • China Lake Museum Foundation, $412,365, STEAM Discovery Center Annex.

Lake County:

  • EcoArts of Lake County dba Middletown Art Center, $188,744, Raices Hermosas (Gorgeous Roots).
  • County of Lake, $75,055, Lake Pomo Gallery Project.

Los Angeles County:

  • Museum of Contemporary Art, $498,820, Contemporary Art Start.
  • Self Help Graphics & Art, $500,000, Self Help Graphics & Art Permanent Roots.
  • California Science Center Foundation, $217,610, Elementary Science Community of Learners.
  • Avenue 50 Studio, Inc., $75,000, The Politics of Portrayal: Three Generations of Chicana Portraiture in Los Angeles.
  • Skirball Cultural Center, $500,000, To support the Skirball’s “Visions and Values School Programs.”
  • Leonis Adobe Association, $280,000, Preserving Los Angeles Historic – Cultural Monument #1: The Leonis Adobe Museum.
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History Foundation, $499,793, Mobile Museum - Ice Age Experience.
  • LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, $500,000, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes Capital Improvement Projects.
  • Japanese American National Museum, $500,000, Searching for Ibasho.
  • Angels Gate Cultural Center, $96,000, Angels Gate Cultural Center Exhibitions and Campus Upgrades.
  • Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, $295,550, LACE Gallery Renovation.
  • Whittier Historical Society, $166,573, Whittier Museum Roof Replacement.

Madera County:

  • San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation, $75,000, California Native American Exhibit.
  • Sierra Historic Sites Association, $174,500, Incorporation of the History and Contribution of Local Indigenous and Ethnic Communities to the SHSA Museum Complex.

Marin County:

  • Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, $500,000, Footsteps of History Project: Enhancing Learning Experiences for Students and Families at Angel Island Immigration Station.

Mariposa County:

  • Northern Mariposa County History Center, $500,000, Construction of a Modern, Energy Efficient, ADA Compliant and Secure Collections Storage Facility.

Mendocino County:

  • Noyo Center for Marine Science, $366,140, Discovery Center / La-BONE-atory.

Merced County:

  • County of Merced, $500,000, Merced County Courthouse Museum Renovation.

Monterey County:

  • Monterey Museum of Art, $56,400, Increasing Access to the Arts for Underserved Populations with a Focus on K-12 Students and Youth and Families.

Nevada County:

  • Sierra Nevada Children’s Museum dba KidZone Museum, $500,000, KidZone Museum's "Seed to Sprout" program and "The Great Outdoors" nature space.

Orange County:

  • Charles W. Bowers Museum Corporation, $202,908, Bowers Museum Art Access Program.
  • Laguna Art Museum, $178,288, Laguna Art Museum Create Access Program.
  • County of Orange, $287,500, Clark Park Interpretive Center Exhibit and Educational Programming Upgrades.

Plumas County:

  • Feather River Land Trust, $492,468, Exhibits on Natural History, Native People and Ecological Restoration at the Sierra Valley Preserve.

Sacramento County:

  • Verge Center for the Arts, $474,588, Verge Center for the Arts, Studio Facility Improvements.
  • National Academic Youth Corp, $152,620, Black Heritage Festival 2023.
  • Crocker Art Museum, $467,455, California Collections Digitization and Webpage Improvement.
  • Effie Yeaw Nature Center, $400,750, Nature Museum Renovation and Revitalization Project.
  • The Freedom Bound Center dba Sol Collective, $170,500, Sol Shine Courtyard.

San Bernardino County:

  • San Bernardino County Museum, $500,000, Activating the Agua Mansa Story through Rehabilitation, Public Engagement, and Interpretation.
  • The Noah Purifoy Foundation, $100,000, Urban Arts Initiative Outreach at the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Sculpture.

San Diego County:

  • San Diego Society of Natural History Balboa Park, $444,912, NGSS Aligned Outdoor Education Curriculum Development.
  • San Diego History Center, $500,000, All-IN San Diego Community History Archiving Project.
  • Timken Museum of Art/Putnam Foundation, $91,900, ARTS on Tour.
  • Japanese Friendship Garden Society of San Diego, $50,000, Genki Enrichment Program.
  • Museum of Photographic Arts, $50,000, Exposure.
  • Friends of The Water Conservation Garden, $266,000, The Water Conservation Garden’s Oak Grove Exhibit.
  • San Diego Children's Discovery Museum, $52,500, Educational Workshops for Children from Low-Income Schools.
  • Zoological Society of San Diego dba San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, $395,240, Biodiversity Hotspot Exploration.

San Francisco County:

  • Uptown Tenderloin dba Tenderloin Museum, $112,600, Sounds of the Tenderloin.
  • Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco, $173,884, Chinatown History and Art Tour (CHAT).
  • Museum of the African Diaspora, $500,000, Museum of the African Diaspora's Renovations Toward Accreditation Project.
  • Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums, $300,000, Equity Schools Partnership Project.
  • California Academy of Sciences, $500,000, Naturalist Center: Centering California Collections & Diversity.
  • Museum of Craft and Design, $115,000, MCD Mobile MakeArt Kit Distribution: Putting creative Art-making Into the Hands of Disadvantaged Children and Families.
  • Children's Creativity Museum, $165,855, “Imagine-Create-Share”: Creative Expression and Storytelling with AAPI Children and Families.

San Luis Obispo County:

  • Central Coast State Parks Association, $335,800, Curating Accessible Programs Through Technology and Innovation.

Santa Barbara County:

  • Lompoc Unified School District - Cabrillo High School Aquarium, $425,000, Cal Coastal Wetlands Exhibit.

Santa Clara County:

  • Palo Alto Art Center Foundation, $82,800, Social Emotional Learning Toolkit Project.
  • The Tech Interactive, $500,000, Inclusivity & Access for Latine & Vietnamese Families.

Santa Cruz County:

  • Watsonville Wetlands Watch, $500,000, Watsonville Nature Center Exhibit Project.

Shasta County:

  • Turtle Bay Exploration Park, $500,000, Turtle Bay Environmental Resource Building.

Sonoma County:

  • Museum of Sonoma County, $150,102, Sonoma County Stories.
  • California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, $204,032, Math Interwoven.

Sutter County:

  • Sutter County, $383,183, Local History Artifact Trunk & Permanent Exhibit.