New York State Hist. Assn.

Purpose: Supporting Lifelong Learning For many years, the New York State Historical Association's (NYSHA) showcase museum, the Fenimore Art Museum, has been the site of exhibitions of fine examples of American folk art. As the museum pursues folk art as a primary strategic direction over the next several years, it will mount two special exhibitions, organized by NYSHA and planned to tour nationally: "Brewster's Worlds: A Deaf Artist in Early America" (2005) and "Grandmother to the Nation: Grandma Moses and the American Century" (2006). The project has two primary goals: (1) to encourage visitors on- and offsite to appreciate and analyze American folk art in a way that informs their own sense of identity and (2) to foster and disseminate scholarship on important American folk artists. The first goal will be accomplished through educational programming, including intergenerational programming, distance learning programs for secondary school and graduate students, secondary school curriculum materials, and intellectually challenging gallery presentations with interactive components. The second goal will be supported by scholarship in the form of catalogs for the two exhibits, written by experts in the field.