By Nina Sazevich
The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco recently received one of 34 Museum Grants for African American History and Culture from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and was the one of only two organizations to receive the full $500,000. amount of reward this year.
The two-year grant will support the expansion of the Museum’s popular MoAD in the Classroom (MIC) educational outreach program, an arts-based visual literacy and cultural studies program for underserved third-grade public school students. and fourth graders and their teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
As one of the only museums in the world to exclusively celebrate the art and history of the African diaspora, MoAD is uniquely positioned to meet the San Francisco Unified School District’s anticipated rollout in 2023-2024 of a newly created and pioneering Black Studies program. as well as new mandates from the California Department of Education that require teachers to integrate art into core subjects, part of an effort to use a variety of approaches to make teaching individually and culturally relevant for all students.
In the majority of school districts in the state of California, only 10 to 25 percent of students engage in some form of arts education, which research shows significantly promotes student academic achievement and achievement towards obtaining a high school diploma. However, without dedicated art teachers on staff, many educators lack the training and resources to teach the arts.
The IMLS grant allows MoAD to quickly create and expand high-quality digital content to expand the program beyond the museum’s local geographic area while continuing to support and serve the approximately 1,500 students and faculty who currently participate every year.
These digital resources, accessible through a portal on the museum’s website, will support educators with detailed lesson plans, instructional videos, and 360-degree virtual exhibit tours, potentially reaching thousands of additional students in California and beyond each year.
The funding also allows the museum to pilot an expansion to support students and teachers in grades 5-10 and expand its reach through a partnership with the San Francisco Public Library.
“Arts education provides a means of self-expression, cultivates cultural pride and unlocks the creative potential of every child,” says Demetri Broxton, senior director of education at MoAD. “Yet it is students of color from working-class neighborhoods who have the least access to it. The MoAD in the Classroom and IMLS grant addresses this disparity, ensuring that the arts flourish as an integral part of education, allowing every student to flourish and help shape a better future for all.
“IMLS is proud to support museums and cultural organizations that are doing important work to increase access to the stories of inspiring people, events and experiences at the center of African American history,” said said Crosby Kemper, director of IMLS. “Our grants to museums of African American history and culture demonstrate the commitment to preserving and promoting education of this country’s rich cultural heritage. »
Nina Sazevich is MoAD’s director of media relations.
