OSSINING – The Sing Sing Prison Museum has been awarded an Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for $364,746.
The funds will be used to restore the historic 1936 Powerhouse into a multi-purpose program and exhibition space, to be used for lectures, films, performances, seminars, displays, and conferences related to criminal justice and the American penal system.
“The Sing Sing Prison Museum has a singular opportunity to demonstrate that history is a resource that helps us understand our own times,” said Brent Glass, the Museum’s executive director. “I am very pleased that NEH funding will enable us to explore some of the core issues of the humanities.”
The museum’s grant comes at a time when the Village of Ossining is undergoing a comprehensive plan that includes the museum as part of its waterfront revitalization, economic development, and cultural and historic resources initiatives.
NEH Infrastructure and Capacity Building grants encourage private philanthropy to match federal funds and leverage private investment in the nation’s cultural institutions.
The museum is required to raise $1.1 million to match NEH funding.
Sing Sing Prison Museum is the extraordinary location where the complex and compelling stories of incarceration are shared on the grounds of one of America’s most historic active prisons. A site of self-reflection and learning, the museum challenges everyone to imagine a more equitable criminal justice system and to take action toward building a more just society.
