Historic Huguenot Street Awarded Grant from the New York State Council on the Arts

 NEW PALTZ, NY (November 19, 2019) - Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) has been awarded a $20,000 New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Implementation Grant for FY2020 with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. NYSCA grants support the transformative impact of the performing, literary, visual and media arts in New York State.

 The grant will be used to offer thought-provoking, accessible, educational programs that encourage people to reflect, learn, and engage in dialogue related to women’s rights and history. This includes lectures, a book club, partnerships, a new school program, exhibits, and an immersive theater experience. The programs will be implemented in 2020 in honor of the national centennial of votes for women.

 “In celebration of the National Centennial of Women’s Suffrage, Historic Huguenot Street is looking forward to engaging the community with diverse innovative and interactive programming,” said Kara Augustine, Director of Public Programming. Programs include artistic and innovative interpretations of local women’s history as well as educational sessions that address current issues related to women’s rights. 

 The feature program is the Immersive Theater Program called “Pathway to the Ballot Box,” coproduced by Clock Jack Productions. It will focus on the history of the historical female figures who lived on and around Historic Huguenot Street. It combines art, history, and the humanities in a way that is unique for the Hudson Valley. HHS is working with PJ Griffith of Clock Jack Productions to assist with the program’s conceptualization, development, and production.

 Other major implementations include a new school field trip program; a speaker series, featuring Meredith Bergmann, Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner, Dr. Susan Goodier, Dr. Elsa Barkley Brown, and Dr. Karen Pastorello; a concert highlighting the Baroque period; and readings by five authors from the NY Votes for Women: A Suffrage Centennial Anthology.

 There will also be four separate exhibits with selections from the HHS Permanent Collection and Archives relating to prominent women with ties to Huguenot Street. Women to be highlighted are renowned composer, pianist, and artist Ruth Lynda Deyo (1884-1960); philanthropist, artist, and collector Emily DuBois Hoysradt (1893-1983); and Christian missionary to Japan, Mary Deyo (1858-1932). Jane Deyo Wynkoop (ca. 1804-1870s), born enslaved in New Paltz and believed to be the first African-American to purchase land in the town, will be featured in an exhibit, as well.

 “We greatly appreciate the generous support of the New York State Council on the Arts,” noted Executive Director Liselle LaFrance. “These programs and exhibits are designed to allow the museum to openly portray and discuss the historic and universal struggle for women’s rights and the ongoing fight for equality. HHS is a well-established, reputable, and trusted institution, and as such, an ideal place for this type of reflection, learning, and dialogue to take place.”

About Historic Huguenot Street
A National Historic Landmark District, Historic Huguenot Street is a 501(c)3 non-profit that encompasses 30 buildings across 10 acres comprising the heart of the original 1678 New Paltz settlement, including seven stone houses dating to the early eighteenth century.  Historic Huguenot Street was founded in 1894 as the Huguenot Patriotic, Historical, and Monumental Society to preserve the nationally acclaimed collection of stone houses.  Since then, Historic Huguenot Street has grown into an innovative museum, chartered as an educational corporation by the University of the State of New York Department of Education that is dedicated to protecting our historic buildings, preserving an important collection of artifacts and manuscripts, and promoting the stories of the Huguenot Street families from the seventeenth century to today.

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 Frances Vigna
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
frances@huguenotstreet.org
(845) 255-1660 Ext. 102