Snippets of delightful stories are sprouting in the birch tree grove that features visitors’ comments adjacent to the Woodson Art Museum‘s main entrance.
We hope many Museum members and enthusiasts will share favorite memories and photographs, too, with a broader, national audience via Facebook on Monday, April 4, in celebration of the Woodson’s recognition as a 2016 National Medal finalist.
The Woodson Art Museum is being recognized as one of only seven art museums in the country that are among the 30 finalists for the 2016 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. On April 4, the Woodson will be highlighted on the Institute of Museum and Library Services Facebook page.
The National Medal is the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to the community. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency supporting the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums, each year chooses finalists for their “significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.” For 22 years, the award has celebrated institutions that demonstrate extraordinary and innovative approaches to public service and are making a difference for individuals, families, and communities.
How has the Woodson Art Museum impacted you, your family, and friends?
Consider the range of changing exhibitions – from Birds in Art and origami to guitars and Tiffany glass – programs for all ages and stages, workshops led by visiting artists, and the Museum’s steadfast commitment to always-free admission. For further details, check the National Medal finalist press release and the Museum’s recent recognition as winner of the 2016 Wisconsin Tourism Award for Arts, Culture & Heritage.
On April 4, use this link – https://www.facebook.com/USIMLS?_rdr – to like, comment, and add your own photos and succinct posts about how the Woodson Art Museum has made a difference in your life. Please include #NationalMedal and #MuseumMonday in all your social media posts.
Thank you for letting others know how you’ve benefited from and been involved with the Woodson Art Museum. By sharing your stories, you can help to build nationwide awareness for the many ways museums engage their communities – the reason the IMLS is highlighting National Medal finalists via its six-week Share Your Stories social media campaign.
If you don’t have a Facebook account, the IMLS has a few suggestions.
Ask a friend or family member who has a Facebook account to post on your behalf a brief story in a few sentences and/or a photo illustrating your interaction with the Woodson.
Send us your stories (email to abeck@lywam.org). We’ll post a few brief excerpts on behalf of others.
Ten National Medal museum and library winners will be named later this spring, and representatives from winning institutions will travel to Washington, D.C., to be honored at the National Medal award ceremony. Also, StoryCorps will visit the ten sites to record community members’ stories. Imagine the possibilities; perhaps your story could be preserved in the StoryCorps Archives at the Library of Congress American Folklife Center.
Being recognized as a National Medal finalist certainly feels like winning; here are the seven art museums named as 2016 finalists: Columbia Museum of Art (Columbia, South Carolina); The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (Amherst, Massachusetts); Fitchburg Art Museum (Fitchburg, Massachusetts); Honolulu Museum of Art (Honolulu, Hawaii); Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (Wausau, Wisconsin); Museum of Art & History at the McPherson Center / Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (Santa Cruz, California); and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, New York).
We invite you to share stories at any time, year round. Post photos and comments on the Museum’s Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/Leigh-Yawkey-Woodson-Art-Museum-of-Wausau-28107788747/. Because we always love to hear your stories and collect them, I also encourage you to write and send your stories directly to me at abeck@lywam.org
We’re always eager to cultivate and nurture new growth in our collection of comments from Woodson Art Museum visitors and fans.
