Trump administration cuts more than $1.3M in grants from Minnesota museums, institutions

The federal regime is pulling museum grants from cultural institutions nationwide including countless in Minnesota In April the Institute of Museum and Library Services the main federal funder of museums and libraries reported the Science Museum of Minnesota the Walker Art Center the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and the Ramsey County Historical Society their grants would be cut The IMLS pulled in grants from the Science Museum from the Walker from the Mille Lacs Band and from the Ramsey County Historical Society This is definitely unprecedented explained Christopher Stevens the Walker chief of advancement It s pretty devastating and it s discouraging that the federal establishment which makes a relatively tiny commitment in the arts is willing to cut that commitment According to Chad Roberts director of the Ramsey County Historical Society The biggest thing is It s not really ever happened before where the federal ruling body has made this kind of a promise to a museum with a grant agreement and then just decided not to do it It really shakes your confidence in any kind of funding promise that gets made he declared The cuts are the product of President Donald Trump s March executive order Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy The order called for the IMLS and other administration entities to be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law The IMLS then put more than of its staff on administrative leave and curtailed and terminated hundreds of grants across the country In total the IMLS awarded in museum grants to Minnesota institutions However it is unclear how much funding has been lost in Minnesota as the cuts could also impact grants issued in previous years that were designated for multi-year projects This also does not account for the cuts to grants issued to libraries statewide The IMLS rescinded a grant awarded to the Walker in late to help the Minneapolis museum reduce barricades for visitors with disabilities by planning and implementing interpretive tools and programs for learners with disabilities Stevens who has been with the Walker for over three decades noted he s never seen cuts like this We re deeply saddened that the federal regime which made a commitment to encouragement that work and has contributed more than million to the Walker over the decades is now going back and canceling a contract and work we thought would benefit people that enjoy coming to art museums he declared Fossil circumstances collaboration projects cut at Science Museum The grant cuts will affect four projects and potentially staff positions at the Science Museum in St Paul These include A content and area engagement project on context action Digitization of the museum s Chiapas Maya Ethnographic Collection which includes collaborating with Maya communities of Chiapas Mexico A professional progress DEI collaboration with smaller and underserved museums in the Midwest The second phase of digitizing the Wannagan Creek fossil collection from North Dakota including fossils that date back million years and document an ancient ecosystem Alison Rempel Brown Courtesy of the Science Museum of Minnesota They explained upon further review IMLS has determined that your grant is unfortunately no longer consistent with the agency s priorities and no longer serves the interest of the United States and the IMLS campaign declared Alison Rempel Brown the president of the Science Museum I cannot guess what s going through their heads Brown explained the cut to the Wannagan Creek fossil project is particularly surprising because it is the the greater part focused on what has traditionally been considered pure science We have a very world-class collection from that region she stated That s a critical collection to help us understand how situation changed in the past and particular lessons we can learn as the atmosphere continues to change going forward If it s not digitized scientists around the world don t understand that we have this collection and how they can use it to continue their scientific work The IMLS cuts are exceptional Brown mentioned because Congress created the agency in through bipartisan aid Congress realized how vital museums and libraries are for creating district helping provide aid not just in cities but rural areas as well she commented Local employees vendors impacted The Ramsey County Historical Society in St Paul had received a IMLS grant for to digitize million county assessor field cards for residential properties from - Director Chad Roberts mentioned these digital records could then be used by historians scholars and policymakers to review the connection between racial housing covenants redlining and zoning and could be a reservoir for individuals to research the history of their homes and neighborhoods Well we ve got a budget hole to fix now so yeah that s going to have an impact he explained Of program we were upset This is a project that s got a total price tag of Federal money was a good chunk of being able to get it done in the next three years and that s just not going to be realizable The grants are reimbursal Roberts explained so the grantees spend the money and then request the funds The Historical Society has already funded worth of work on the project That hasn t been paid yet and we re not sure it s going to be she noted The communications coming out of the Institute of Museum and Library Services have not been consistent Roberts announced this will impact employees and contracted vendors In our affair it s a small business she explained The grant funded a couple of jobs over a minimal years That s just us It has that impact real close to home Kris Jensen a press representative with the Mille Lacs Band validated that the IMLS cut its grant too Jensen noted the grant supported the preservation and perpetuation of the language and cultural practices of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe This would include making recorded stories from elders and locality members available to the inhabitants The Goldstein Museum of Design at the University of Minnesota received a IMLS grant for to photograph objects and create an online database Talia Milavetz a constituents relations strategist for the university disclosed they are now unaware of any changes to the grant Hoping for a coalition response Related Articles Hidden in Eagan office building new Hagen Hus Gallery is a world art tour Fine-art galleries and museum exhibitions are thinking big The Threads That Bind Us Dakota County Historical Society hosts th annual quilt show Museum offers new home to gun St Paulites used to fire first American shots of WWII At Shoreview s Cafesjian Art Trust new curatorial band aims to expand the contemporary art museum beyond glass Christopher Stevens disclosed the Walker Art Center will request an IMLS review of termination which must be submitted by May Minnesota has joined other states in a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop cuts to the IMLS and other agencies We re hoping that specific kind of a coalition of people will push back but that will take a long time In the short term we won t have the money to serve the community as we were planning to do Stevens commented In the big picture of things why you would target libraries and art museums for funding seems puzzling and doesn t seem to be solving any real problems