Morikami: Exploring the Continuing Dialogue Between Japanese and American Cultures

FAIN: CH-50176-05

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens (Delray Beach, FL 33446-2305)
Larry 0. Rosensweig (Project Director: May 2004 to January 2005)
Thomas Gregersen (Project Director: January 2005 to January 2023)

Endowment for the position of Director of Education and for humanities programming.

The Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens seeks a $500,000 Challenge Grant from NEH to match $1.5 million, over a three-year period, in non-federal gifts to endow The Morikami's humanities programs. This grant proposal is an essential component of a $10 million endowment campaign to improve the depth of humanities programs about Japanese society and American/Japanese cultural influences. NEH funds will be used to: 1) conduct research on the Japanese heritage of Florida and the relationships and influences on each other of Japanese and American cultures; 2) translate this research into new exhibitions and educational programs; 3) expand participation of humanities scholars in museum programs, despite the shortage of such scholars in Florida; 4) institutionalize the offering of interpretive publications and lectures to accompany exhibitions; 5) expand museum exhibitions and programming to include contemporary issues not previously addressed; 6) ensure the continuity and quality of humanities programs by creating an endowment to fund the Director of Education position in perpetuity. As the only museum in the U.S. that consistently and exclusively provides a humanities approach to the study and interpretation of Japanese culture and the Japanese-American heritage, The Morikami is poised to become an even more important contributor to the national community of museums producing new exhibitions and knowledge on these subjects, and making this information widely available through the Virtual Japanese Museum Project and the Resource Center on Japanese Culture for Florida Educators.