Displaying items by tag: national museum of african american history and culture

The 19th Smithsonian museum opened its doors on September 24, and since then, demand to experience the new museum has yet to subside. Even though the museum is trying to implement timed passes to help manage the crowds, passes are quickly selling out online. 103,000 people visited the history, culture and community exhibitions in its first ten days, even with the museum being conservative about giving out advance passes to visitors. People have been traveling from across over the country to have a chance to see all of the incredible African American memorabilia in one place.

The Smithsonian Institution’s federal appropriation will increase $14.5 million to $819.5 million for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, officials said.

Most of the money — more than $675 million — will cover salaries and expenses at the institution, including a federal pay raise of 1 percent and increases in employee benefits and other costs.

The appropriation — a small piece of the omnibus package Congress passed earlier this month — includes $6.5 million for staffing, programming and collections care for the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the final $24 million of the federal government’s commitment for its construction.

Set to open on D.C.’s National Mall in 2016, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture received a major donation toward its current capital campaign on July 4. The Ford Motor Company pledged $1 million to the under-construction museum to go toward future programming.

“We are so pleased that the Ford Motor Company Fund has chosen to join hundreds of donors from across the country to build a groundswell of support for the National Museum of African American History and Culture; we recognize this as a vote of confidence,” Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the museum, said in a release.

In his 2015 fiscal year budget, President Obama increased federal appropriation requests for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art. The Smithsonian, which received a $45 million increase over 2014, will put a portion of the funds towards its new National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is slated to open towards the end of 2015. Proposed funding for the National Gallery of Art increased $7 million from the previous year. The President’s budget has allotted $140 million for salaries, expenses, and renovations.

President Obama allotted $146 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the same amount requested in 2014. The NEA is an independent federal agency that funds and promotes artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals as well as communities.   

Appropriations could change once congressional appropriation committees review President Obama’s budget.

The General Motors Foundation has donated a $1 million grant to Lonnie G. Bunch, the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum is currently under construction and is slated to open next door to the Washington Monument in late 2015. Oprah Winfrey, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and American Express have already made substantial contributions to the museum.

Construction began on the $500 million museum back in 2012 and the project’s cost will be evenly split between private and public funding. So far, approximately $400 million has been raised. The museum’s collection will be comprised of objects from across the country that come together to tell the stories that make up the African American experience. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum dedicated exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history and culture. 

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. announced that Oprah Winfrey will donate $12 million to support the capital campaign of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. Winfrey donated $1 million in 2007, bringing her total contribution to the project to $13 million. She has been a member of the museum’s advisory council since 2004. To thank her for her generosity, the Smithsonian will name the museum’s 350-seat theater the Oprah Winfrey Theater.

The museum, which is currently under construction, is expected to cost $500 million by the time it reaches completion. Congressional funding provided half of the capital and the rest is being raised by the museum. The museum is situated on 5 acres of land and sits next to the Washington Monument. It will be the 19^th Smithsonian museum.

Wayne Clough, the Smithsonian Secretary, said, “At its heart, the National Museum of African History and Culture is a showcase for a richer, fuller picture of the American experience. The Oprah Winfrey Theater will bring untold stories alive through films, performances, artistic expression and public dialogue.”

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is slated to open in late 2015.