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Erika Sanger

First Vote: A Letter from MANY’s Erika Sanger

February 26, 2023 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

Eleanor Roosevelt voting in 1936I don’t remember who was on the ballot the first time I voted, but I remember the challenge of finding my polling place – a community meeting room in the basement of an apartment building – on a rainy night in New York City.

The room was lit with flickering fluorescent bulbs and the floor was covered with gray linoleum tile. It took the poll volunteer who sat on a metal folding chair behind a metal folding table a long time to find me in a very large register. [Read more…] about First Vote: A Letter from MANY’s Erika Sanger

Filed Under: History, New Exhibits Tagged With: Advocacy, America's 250th Anniversary, Museum Association of New York, Museums, Political History, Smithsonian, Voting Rights

Museums, Historical Societies: Be Prepared for Winter

February 2, 2023 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

trees in winter courtesy MANYI admit to being one of those people who perhaps overly prepares for winter in Upstate New York. We have a generator for our 200-year-old home because we live in a place where the power goes out. I have a “winter bag” with blankets, flashlight, water, and granola bars as well as a very large brush and ice scraper in my car.

In the Museum Association of New York office in Troy, we keep extra jackets on hand and cover the windows with plastic to hold back wind blowing off the Hudson River. [Read more…] about Museums, Historical Societies: Be Prepared for Winter

Filed Under: Arts, History, Nature Tagged With: Disaster Management, Municipal Historians, Museum Association of New York, Museums, Public History, winter

Erika Sanger: Take Action Today in Support of NYS Museums

February 16, 2021 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

United States Capitol provided by MANYIn the coming weeks, our elected officials at both the state and federal levels will work on legislation that will directly impact our museums. In Albany, legislators are working on budget priorities. In Washington, Congress is shaping the next COVID-19 relief package and gathering support for 2022 appropriations.

We have a small window in which to effect change and I’m asking you to take action today. [Read more…] about Erika Sanger: Take Action Today in Support of NYS Museums

Filed Under: Arts, History Tagged With: Historic Preservation, Museum Association of New York, Museums

NYS Museums Slouch Towards Recovery

August 3, 2020 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

116th Congress 2D SessionWe are fortunate that New York State is represented in the US Congress by members of the House of Representatives and Senate whose steadfast support of our museum sector has historically helped sustain our federal funding agencies.

New York Congressional Representatives were also instrumental in passing the CARES Act, which included provisions that helped many museums in New York State through this worldwide health crisis. [Read more…] about NYS Museums Slouch Towards Recovery

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Historic Preservation, Museum Association of New York, Museums

NYS Museums Working Together in Uncertain Times

April 1, 2020 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

MANY photoI hope all who are reading this are well, that your families are well, and that you are taking precautionary measures to remain healthy and safe.

Every museum in New York is closed, thousands of staff have already been laid off, and thousands more will follow. A Washington, DC source estimated that as many as 30% of museums across the nation may remain permanently closed. [Read more…] about NYS Museums Working Together in Uncertain Times

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: MANY, Museum Association of New York, Museums

Don’t Trust Anyone Over (or Under?) 30

February 3, 2020 by Erika Sanger 1 Comment

dont trust anyone over 30

This past November I turned 57. Depending on which demographer you choose to believe, I am either a Baby Boomer or a member of the elusively-defined Generation “X.” My older cousins wore POW-MIA bracelets to honor soldiers captured in the Vietnam War. Some went to Woodstock, others got stuck on the Thruway trying to get there. I was surrounded by people who fought for racial and gender equality, protested against injustice, questioned authority, broke dress codes, and stepped outside of social norms. There was a clear divide from older generations fueled by a mutual lack of trust; places and spaces to come together and agree on politics, music, or values were few and far between. [Read more…] about Don’t Trust Anyone Over (or Under?) 30

Filed Under: History Tagged With: MANY, Museum Association of New York, Museums

Erika Sanger: MEA Update, Museums Advocacy March 11-12

March 7, 2019 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

NYS museums delegates with Senator Chuck Schumer Museums Advocacy Day 2019

I am writing from American Alliance of Museums’ Museum Advocacy Day where 300 museum professionals will be speaking up for museums on Capitol Hill, in Washington D.C. — 26 are from 18 of New York’s Congressional Districts comprising the largest delegation represented.

New York State Congressional Representatives are critically important to federal funding for museums. The new Chair of the House Appropriations Committee is Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY17). Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) is the author of the Institute of Museum and Library Services re-appropriation letter in the U.S. Senate.  Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY20) is one of the bill sponsors in the House. [Read more…] about Erika Sanger: MEA Update, Museums Advocacy March 11-12

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Albany, Andrew Cuomo, Education, MANY, Museum Advocacy Day, Museum Education Act

Support for NYS Museums: Speaking Out

October 17, 2018 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

NYS Capital and the EggMonday I attended two meetings where state support for museums in New York was discussed. The first was a strategic planning workshop for the New York State Council on the Arts and the second was the Cultural Education Committee meeting of NYSED’s Board of Regents. [Read more…] about Support for NYS Museums: Speaking Out

Filed Under: Arts, History Tagged With: MANY, Museums, New York State Council on the Arts

NYS Museums Advocacy Report From Erika Sanger

March 6, 2018 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

NY Museum Professionals in the Washington, DC office of New York Senator Charles SchumerLast week we were in Washington, D.C. for Museums Advocacy Day sponsored by the American Alliance for Museums. We learned some important things about New York’s Museums that made us proud to speak up for our sector.

Oxford Economics’ 2017 national report “Museums as Economic Engines” found that the total annual economic impact of Museums in New York State is $5.4 billion dollars – equal to that of the state’s agricultural industries and second only to California in contributions to our nation’s economy. [Read more…] about NYS Museums Advocacy Report From Erika Sanger

Filed Under: History Tagged With: MANY, Museums, Public History

Erika Sanger: Museum Education Act Needs Your Support

February 9, 2018 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

Assembly’s Education CommitteeOn Tuesday, February 6, Sheila Healy, the Museum Association of New York’s government relations consultant, and I had the opportunity to attend the Assembly’s Education Committee meeting chaired by Assembly member Catherine Nolan.

Guest speaker MaryEllen Elia, Commissioner of Education, shared her 2018 budget priorities and fielded member questions. We then met with Museum Education Act (A.3892A/S.1676A) sponsors Assembly Member Matt Titone and Senator Betty Little. [Read more…] about Erika Sanger: Museum Education Act Needs Your Support

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Advocacy, Education, MANY, Museum Education Act, Museums

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