Investing in Education and Growing a Digital Humanities Future at the Seward House Museum

FAIN: ZPP-283245-22

Seward House Museum (Auburn, NY 13021-3929)
Jeffrey Ludwig (Project Director: May 2021 to August 2023)

Continuation of online programming including lectures, symposiums, and fieldtrips begun during COVID and development of new educational resources.

Building off of the foundation provided by a 2020 NEH CARES grant, the Seward House Museum (SHM) seeks funding from the NEH ARPHO to not only sustain momentum, but to grow a more ambitious future as a flagship humanities hub in Central New York. While the previous COVID relief support offered both a critical lifeline and a key initial investment in digital educational capacity, an award from the current American Rescue Plan Act would catalyze a new phase of transformative growth. Such funding would allow SHM educators to maintain their current model of operations and simultaneously implement the next generation of projects. Among them: digital symposiums and community forums, virtual exhibits and collections archives, and documentary-quality video production—all disseminated at no cost to the diverse public the Museum serves. The timing of ARPHO is ideal, aligning with the SHM’s Strategic Plan to prepare for the upcoming American Semiquincentennial with its rich stories of freedom.