A new grant aims to help Delaware Art Museum safely engage the community

This fall, the Delaware Art Museum (DelArt) is offering programs for youth, including virtual school tours, happy hours, drive-in movies and a “Healing through the Arts” program that uses virtual slow art tours to help people healing from trauma. These programs, designed to safely engage with the community while COVID-19 restrictions remain in place, are part of local efforts to keep Wilmington connected — and cultural institutions running — during the pandemic.

DelArt announced that it received a $20,000 grant from Bank of America (BoA) to help support these programs, along with funding from National Endowment for the Arts’ CARES Act dispersion and DuPont.

“The coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on many cultural organizations, and it is important to provide our support to ensure their continued viability,” said Chip Rossi, Delaware market president for BoA, in a statement.

It’s not just about giving the community continued access to art and cultural events. According to the 2017 Arts & Economic Prosperity report for the State of Delaware from the Americans for the Arts, each year DelArt creates 160 full-time equivalent jobs, $4,508,167 in resident household income, $67,096 in local government revenue and $338,248 in state government revenue.

While DelArt is stepping up its virtual and hybrid programs this fall, the museum is open to the public with COVID-19 health and safety procedures in place. Its current exhibitions include “Layered Abstraction: Margo Allman & Helen Mason,” “Julio daCunha: Modernizing Myths” and “Black Survival Guide, or How to Live Through a Police Riot.”