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WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko announced today that the Albany Institute of History and Art and Irish American Heritage Museum are being awarded grants totaling $72,601 to fund programs and assist with COVID recovery.

Tonko successfully pushed to support museums in the American Rescue Plan, and led a bipartisan letter from Members of the New York Congressional delegation to House leadership requesting funds for these institutions in federal COVID-19 response.

• Albany Institute of History and Art has been awarded $37,801 to support the Albany African American History Project that seeks to expand research and knowledge about Black Americans living in Albany.
• Irish American Heritage Museum has been awarded $34,800 to support staff and expand programming to better tell the story of the contributions of the Irish people and their culture in America.

“Few industries were hit harder by this pandemic than our museums,” Congressman Tonko said. “These educational institutes provide vital insights into our history and the rich, diverse voices that built our communities, all while contributing directly to our regional economy. I fought hard to include critically-needed funding to support museums in our COVID-19 rescue plan and I am delighted to see these resources being delivered to our Capital Region and beyond. Congratulations to the Albany Institute of History and Art and Irish American Heritage Museum on these deserved awards that will strengthen our communities and preserve our culture.”

Tammis K. Groft, Executive Director of the Albany Institute of History and Art said, “The Albany Institute, like so many museums and cultural organizations, was deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding for the "Albany African American History Project Part 1, from 1650 to 1877" provides us with continued support of a major museum initiative and gives us the capacity to establish a project model that can be replicated in the future. We are grateful for the opportunity to pair seasoned researchers with emerging professionals to uncover the stories of African Americans living and working in the city of Albany through the lens of museum collections. The results of this exciting project will provide our community and researchers around the world access to an online resource of one hundred digitized collection materials and give us tools for more projects like this down the road.”

Elizabeth Stack, PhD, Executive Director of the Irish American Heritage Museum said, “The Irish American Heritage Museum is very grateful to the IMLS and Congressman Tonko for their support of our education and cultural mission. After a year of Covid-related restrictions, this grant means that we can hire a full-time member of staff, and continue to expand the high-quality, free history and heritage programming we offer to our community and beyond. We are stewards of the contributions of immigrants to America, and work to make our archives and culture accessible to people across New York state and beyond, so investments like this in small museums are crucial for our continued success.”

These awards are being administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the American Rescue Plan grants program, which was established to assist museums and libraries with COVID-19 recovery and address community needs. IMLS is awarding 390 institutes across the nation for a total of $15,255,733 through this grant program.

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