[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] At a ceremony in Washington DC, the Museo de Arte de Ponce (Ponce Art Museum) recently received the National Medal from the United States Institute of Museum and Library Services. Read the full article at New day.
The Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP) was invited by the United States Institute of Museums and Library Services [Instituto de Museos y Servicios Bibliotecarios de los Estadios Unidos (IMLS)] at the annual National Medal ceremony, an event held in Washington DC and chaired by Crosby Kemper, director of IMLS.
The National Medal is the highest honor given annually to museums and libraries located on American soil that, through their programs and services, have made an outstanding contribution to the communities they serve.
MAP received this important distinction in 2021. But, due to the pandemic, the ceremony was not held in person, so in 2022 the winning libraries and museums of both years joined in an important recognition and fraternization event held in the historical monument. Anderson House, in the federal capital.
The 2021 National Medal was awarded to the Ponce Art Museum for its outstanding work in the community after the earthquake that affected the southwest of the island in 2020 and the digital programming it developed to meet the needs of the population in the face of the global emergency caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.
After the earthquake, the institution started the program “El Museo sale a la calle” [The Museum goes out to the street], introducing art workshops that provided hundreds of people with the goal of channeling emotions through painting. These workshops were offered free of charge in shelters, schools, under tents, National Guard centers and open spaces where people – whose homes were damaged – spent the day and sometimes stayed overnight. MAP visited the most affected populations in Ponce and municipalities in the area.
After the earthquake, the institution started a program of art workshops that offered hundreds of people to channel their emotions through painting. These workshops were offered free of charge in shelters, tented schools, National Guard centers and open spaces where people whose homes were affected spent the day and even stayed overnight. MAP visited the most affected populations in Ponce and municipalities in the area.
Likewise, when the Covid-19 pandemic reached the island and the recommendation for preventive isolation kept the population confined to their homes, MAP reacted quickly by developing the ConectARTE program, which it carried out through its social networks for more than a year. [. . .]
[Photo above by Shannon Finney/Shannon Finney Photography: On behalf of the Ponce Museum of Art, receiving the recognition were, from left to right, María Magriñá Catinchi, Communications Manager, Rubí Rodríguez Bustillo, Deputy Director of Operations and Sustainability, and Sofia Cánepa Ekdhal, Head of the Education and Empowerment Programs Department of Museum Communities. The recognition was presented by Crosby Kemper, director of the Institute of Museums and Library Services (to the right).]
Excerpts translated by Ivette Romero. For the full article, see https://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/cultura/notas/el-museo-de-arte-de-ponce-recibe-la-medalla-nacional-en-washington-dc/
See also
https://www.facebook.com/museoarteponce
https://museoarteponce.org/en/museo-de-arte-de-ponce-recognized-as-a-2021recipient-of-nations-highest-museum-and-library-honor
https://www.imls.gov/our-work/national-medal-museum-and-library-service/2021-national-medal-museum-and-library-service
