Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) announced that the Crocker Art Museum has been awarded a federal Museums for America grant of $148,441 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). These funds can be used for a wide variety of projects, including research, planning, and new programs and activities that support the efforts of museums to integrate new technologies.

“The Crocker Art Museum is one of the jewels of Sacramento, and this grant announcement is great news for our region,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “The federal funding will further enable the Crocker to provide valuable programming for Sacramento families, and to be a catalyst for our local arts scene.”

Museums for America is the IMLS’s largest grant program for museums. These grants help support ongoing projects and activities that increase a museum’s ability to engage with and serve their surrounding community. Today’s funding will help support the Crocker Art Museum’s “All About Families” initiative, which is increasing the Crocker’s ability to engage family audiences by helping to build staff knowledge and skills to meet the needs of families and ensuring that exhibits and programs respect many voices and perspectives.

Lial A. Jones, Mort & Marcy Friedman Director of the Crocker Art Museum, remarked, “Ensuring that the Crocker Art Museum is a vital resource for all families in our community is critical to the Museum’s mission. We are thrilled to receive support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to strengthen our ‘All About Families’ initiative and to help us further our understanding of how we can better serve families in our region.”

The IMLS received 481 applications for Museum of America grants this year, and were able to fund 160 projects. Grantees are required to provide at least a 1:1 match; the Crocker will provide matching funds in the amount of $249,999.