Although the Bullion Plaza Cultural Center and Museum in Miami has been closed since March, due to COVID-19, and remains closed until further notice, the employees have been able to remain active, thanks to a generous grant from Arizona Humanities and the National Endowment for Humanities.
“All of us at Bullion Plaza Museum are grateful for the generous support by Arizona Humanities and the National Endowment for Humanities,” says Executive Director Tom Foster. “This, along with the wonderful support we get from groups such as United Fund, the County, our members, and others, has enabled us to enjoy both the direct and indirect benefits of the grant.
“The support, in a time such as this, has been a real godsend… not just for us, but for the many other organizations who have benefitted from the CARES Act grant.”
The CARES (Coronovirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act Emergency Relief grant cycle is coming to a close, which helped the museum to retain its already diminished general fund to use for other, more essential financial responsibilities until other funding becomes available.
As an indirect result in keeping the three staff at the museum working, the museum has been able to continue to offer, and provide assistance to, those individuals and entities who need help with their research. The project to digitize local historic newspapers has also continued, and book projects have been able to move forward.
In keeping the Executive Director at the museum, since the closure in March, and limited volunteer help, exhibits have been improved in the Ranch Room, Native American Room, Mineral Hallway, Military Room, and further restoration of the second floor mezzanine area, auditorium and the late Congressman Ed Pastor’s exhibit rooms (still under construction). When they re-open, visitors will have new sights (and sounds) to enjoy, and spend more time at the museum.
The Executive Director, research assistant and others have been working collaboratively on a new video program for both facebook and YouTube, which will keep people seeing what’s going on. Some of the presentations are still in progress, and some are already available (simply search “Bullion Plaza Museum” in facebook or YouTube). Also, there are new and exciting partnerships in the development stages, between Bullion Plaza Museum and other entities who are interested in promoting educational and historic topics using video.
Bullion Plaza Museum’s maintenance and groundskeeper, who is one of those covered by the grant, has enabled Bullion Plaza Museum to retain a healthy environment inside the museum, as well as keeping the exterior grounds trimmed and maintained.
For more information on Arizona Humanities, visit them at http://azhumanities.org; and visit The National Endowment for Humanities at https://www.neh.gov/about.
