October is Arts and Humanities month so it is a good time to share the news of progress of the local art museum and invite people to enjoy the art and programs offered at 575 E Street in David City.
Visitors to Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art in David City have come to see that the museum's mission is to be the national center for preserving, viewing and learning about exceptional agrarian art. Clearly stating that mission was just one of the HELP [Hands-On Experiential Learning Project] goals achieved during the first year and a half that the museum has been open to the public.
Thanks to many volunteers coordinated by volunteer Mark Mohler the museum has been open for all of its regularly scheduled hours of Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 1 to 4 p.m., as well as for special tours and events. The current exhibitions include the art of Beverly Evans Garcia "From Barnyard to Pasture," which ends Oct. 15, and "Jane Scott
Retrospective: Mid-America Impressions," which ends Nov. 29.
Educational activities associated with each exhibition continue to be planned, and area schools and community clubs and organizations schedule their tours by calling the museum at 402-367-4488.
Future exhibitions and events are posted on the website of www.bonecreek.org.
Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art graduated from the one year HELP program in July. Board member Brian Zimmer joined board members Anna Nolan [Covault] and Allen Covault at the final sessions in North Platte. The plaque presented at that time is on display in the middle gallery of Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art.
Nolan, president of Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art, commented, "The in-depth guidance of the HELP program has proved invaluable. We attended all of the sessions throughout the year and brought recommendations to our board."
HELP is a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance's (Mid-America) Professional Development Division that provides institutional advancement, capacity building and professional development opportunities for Mid-America's constituents. As a participating museum, Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art concentrated on improvements related to nonprofit governance. HELP combined workshops, on-site consultant visits and online tutorials to assist the participating museums in goal-setting and evaluation. Mid-America subsidized all workshop travel and a portion of each museum's attendance at a state or regional museum conference, which allowed them to connect with peers in the field and other state-wide organizations. As a result of this initial support, Bone Creek is not only a member of the American Association of Museums but is a member of the Mountain Plains Museums Association. Having found the MPMA meetings last October in Kansas City to be an excellent source of guidance, the Covaults will be attending the MPMA sessions in Cheyenne, Wyo., this month.
Thanks to another successful grant application, treasured objects and art held by the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art will be preserved for future generations with help from the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf. The award resulted in the museum receiving a core set of conservation books and online resources donated by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The IMLS Bookshelf focuses on collections typically found in art or history museums and in libraries' special collections. These references are in the assistant curator's office of the museum for easy referral. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.
--submitted by Anna Nolan [Covault] for Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art