$10,000 NEA Grant Fuels Museum Renewal

PLATTEVILLE, Wis., August 30, 2021 — The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums is grateful to receive a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts under the Arts Engagement in American Communities program. The grant will help support general operating expenses associated with cultivating arts and culture in our community — which is a natural complement to sharing the stories of the natural history, cultural history, and science and industry of the region. As museum staff continues planning for implementation of projects unveiled in the recently completed Site and Facility Master Plan, this grant helps to reaffirm the museum’s commitment to arts and culture as a core part of serving the community.

“The Museums are uniquely positioned to develop creative placemaking initiatives based on our community values, priorities, and assets,” said Museum Director Erik Flesch. “Thanks to this NEA support, we can continue to harness the museum heritage collections and Driftless Area setting to propel the Museums forward by being not only a historical museum, but also a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) museum with a richly interpreted sense of place.”

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America.

Arts Engagement in American Communities (AEAC) supports arts projects in all artistic disciplines, extending the National Endowment for the Arts’ reach to communities across the United States. These grants engage the public with diverse and excellent art in geographic areas underrepresented in our grantmaking portfolio. Grants are available for professional arts programming, including, but not limited to, presentation of artists or artworks, marketing and promotional activities, educational programs, and organizational planning.The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums are located on Main Street in Platteville, Wisconsin, in the heart of the historic Upper Mississippi Valley lead-zinc mining region. Founded in 1965, the Museums are celebrating three milestone anniversaries in 2021: the 50th of the completion of the Mining Museum, the 45th of the opening of the Bevans Mine, and the 40th of the Rollo Jamison Museum in Platteville. The museum is a nearly three-acre campus with scenic greenspace, the underground 1845 Bevans Mine, and a 1930s-era narrow-gauge mine railroad pulled by a 1931 Whitcomb locomotive. The mission of the Museums is to continue in the pursuit of excellence in the areas of regional and mining history. To achieve that purpose, the Museums are commissioned to be custodians of the past; to interpret the rich lead and zinc mining heritage of the region, as well as to preserve, interpret, and display the artifacts that define Southwest Wisconsin. The Museums open daily from May to October 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cultural programs, special events, and virtual tours are offered year-round.

Follow The Mining & Rollo Jamison Museums on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. To reserve your Mine Tour and for more information on current and upcoming programs visit www.mining.jamison.museum, call (608) 348-3301 or email museums@platteville.org.