Hi Ethan,
The Irving Archives and Museum is currently hosting an artifact-based history exhibition that we co-created with a local community partner, Badge of Pride. Identifying a local organization that is connected with the LGBTQ+ community and interested in preserving history was essential to this project's success. The exhibition, "Badge of Pride: From Silence...to Celebration," is making an incredible impact on our community, allowing us to welcome new audiences, and we are seeing record attendance. The exhibit is accompanied by a robust programming schedule of happy hours, film screenings, lectures, and guided tours. You can learn more about the project here: https://www.irvingarchivesandmuseum.com/badgeofpride and check out Badge of Pride (the organization) on socials to get programming ideas.
To navigate the politics around bringing this exhibit to life in Texas, we raised all the funds for the exhibition independent of tax dollars (we are a municipal museum). And again, the community partnership was key to the fundraising success. We sought corporate sponsorship from organizations that still promote diversity as a value and actually received considerable support from faith-based organizations.
It's been an incredibly rewarding journey for our team.
Best,
Jenn
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Jennifer Landry
Museum Director
Irving Department of Arts and Culture
Irving TX
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