Heckscher Museum Wins Grant for LGBTQ+ Programs

The Heckscher Museum of Art has been awarded a grant of $250,000 to support LGBTQ+ exhibitions and programs.

The museum said that the program was inspired by the 10th anniversary of the Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) Supreme Court decision, which recognized same-sex couples’ right to marry, as well as by the museum’s ongoing partnerships with community and cultural organizations and artists.

“We are honored to accept this grant from IMLS,” said Museum Executive Director and CEO Heather Arnet.  “It further solidifies our commitment to serving our community and showcasing diverse artists and stories. As we look to 2025, we are excited to engage youth and intergenerational community members in a robust year of exhibitions and programming highlighting and celebrating LGBTQ+ history and artists.”

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded grants to 115 programs around the country.

“We are excited about the Museum’s 2025 Exhibition year, and its capacity to shine a light on LGBTQ+ artists,” said Robert Vitelli, CEO, LGBT Network.  “This exhibition year also provides an opportunity to highlight the important role that New York and Long Island have played in LGBT history and the contributions our community has made to the arts and to advancing civil rights for all people.”

The museum will work with  community members to develop exhibitions and public programming highlighting major works by LGBTQ+ artists, including Berenice Abbott, Marsden Hartley, Betty Parsons, the PaJaMa collective (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French), Alice Rahon, Robert Rauschenberg and many more.

The year will also mark the first-ever solo exhibition of American neoclassical sculptor Emma Stebbins (1815–1882). The grant allows the museum to elevate and interpret experiences of LGBTQ+ figures in American Art, past and present, to deepen and expand relationships in the community, and to engage community members in exhibition and programming development.