Season’s greetings from New York City! The American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) concludes 2020 as a stronger museum then when it closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. Our talented employees– who I consider to be our greatest asset – have remained invested in the AFAM and the Museum has continued its commitment to them by keeping its entire staff intact.
Milestone achievements for the AFAM crystallized this season, including the formal naming of the Audrey B. Heckler Gallery at our Lincoln Square location and installation of a new display of art from the Museum’s collection, including three extraordinary artworks gifted by Audrey. Earlier this month, we announced a transformative gift from Irwin Warren and Museum President Elizabeth V. Warren that will support a new fellowship. The Warren Family Curatorial Fellowship will foster the advancement of an individual who will work with the Museum’s Staff on exhibitions, collection development, and scholarly publications. Irwin and Liz’s remarkable, long-standing commitment to the Museum is truly inspirational.
Our auction through the online platform Artsy featured over 100 contemporary artists, all of whom donated a work of art to support the Museum. The auction provided essential funds to the AFAM and was noted in Forbes Magazine, on Page Six, and during an interview on Jean Shafiroff’s Successful Philanthropy. The year concludes with articles on the Heckler Gallery and our acquisition of an artwork by Yuichiro Ukai in The Art Newspaper.
Art-making and art education programs for hundreds of students have gone virtual, enlarging our virtual classroom to include students from schools across the United States. For the third time since the spring, our Folk Art and Families program was conducted via Zoom, providing activities and art projects for children. Our Teen Leaders program hosted twenty-five high school students from several new partner schools in Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. They met during online classes to study AFAM exhibitions and collections and participated in virtual field trips to other New York museums.
By the end of 2020, we will have organized nearly two dozen virtual programs that have thus far attracted thousands of enthusiasts from across the globe, including Taiwan, Moldova, Canada, Turkey, and Portugal, as well from the United States. Additionally, since the spring we have produced twelve videos on YouTube as part of our Folk Art Reflections program, which is designed for for individuals with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, and featured several sessions conducted in Spanish.
This past autumn, we bid farewell to our esteemed colleague Ken Bing, who retired after 30 years of service. When Ken joined the Museum in 1990, he quickly gained the affection of staff, trustees, and guests alike and played an integral role in protecting AFAM. We will very much miss Ken and his bonhomie.
There are still a few weeks left to see American Perspectives, which closes on January 3. And, if you’re in a giving mood, please support the museum’s year-end appeal. A Trustee and patron will match your gift, dollar for dollar, with a donation up to an aggregate of $20,000.
As we look ahead to 2021, the opening of Photo | Brut: Collection Bruno Decharme & Compagnie, and the Museum’s 60th anniversary, we send our best wishes to each of you. On behalf of the Museum’s Staff, thank you for all you do to support our museum.
Happy Holidays!
In gratitude –
Jason T. Busch
Director and Chief Executive Officer | American Folk Art Museum