Delta Blues Advisory
May 8, 2013
Delta Blues Museum to Receive National Medal Today in White House Ceremony
Celebration Featuring First Lady Michelle Obama Highlights Impact of Mississippi Museum
For Immediate Release
CLARKSDALE, MS (May 8, 2013) - This afternoon, in a White House ceremony in the East Room, First Lady Michelle Obama will join Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Director Susan Hildreth to present the 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service to Delta Blues Museum. The nation's highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to the community, the National Medal celebrates institutions that make a difference for individuals, families, and communities. Museum Director Shelley Ritter and community member Travis Calvin will accept the National Medal.
The 2013 National Medal Ceremony will be streamed live on www.whitehouse.gov/live beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT. and official event photos will be distributed immediately following.
Read the full press release and fact sheet online...
National-Medal-For-Museum-and-Library-Service.pdf
More about Delta Blues Museum
Established in 1979 by the Carnegie Public Library Board of Trustees and re-organized as a stand-alone museum in 1999, the Delta Blues Museum is Mississippi's oldest music museum and the nation's first museum dedicated to the American art form known as the Blues. A 2013 recipient of the IMLS National Medal for Museum and Library Services--the nation's highest honor for museum and library service to the community--and a 2014 winner of the National Arts & Humanities Youth Program Award, the Delta Blues Museum is dedicated to creating a welcoming place where visitors find meaning, value and perspective by exploring the history and heritage of the unique American musical art form, the Blues. The Museum is honored to be a Great River Road Interpretive Center.
For more information on events or programs, please call (662) 627-6820, or visit the Museum web site at www.deltabluesmuseum.org.
The "Delta Blues Foundation" is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that supports the work of Delta Blues Museum. All funds solicited through the Delta Blues Foundation are raised to benefit the Delta Blues Museum. On-line tax deductible contributions to the Delta Blues Foundation include the Deeper Roots program and the General Fund (a monetarily unrestricted contribution made to the foundation in support of the museum). Memberships and the Buy a Brick program are funded directly to the Delta Blues Museum and are not considered tax deductible.
Through its DEEPER ROOTS campaign, the museum seeks $1.2 million for new and enhanced exhibits: Expanded exhibits, including those to be housed in the Muddy Waters Addition, will enable the cultural organization to better preserve and display the history and work of blues artists from the Mississippi Delta, and advance the Museum's ability to "tell" stories that inspire and educate future generations about this important American art form.
For online donations or for more information on events or programs, please call (662) 627-6820, or visit the Museum web site at www.deltabluesmuseum.org.
Members of the press may register on the Museum's website to access the press room further information, images and materials.
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Shelly Ritter, Director
This newsletter is supported in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and, in part, from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
This site is made possible through support from the Mississippi Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Rock River Foundation.
This site made possible through the support of Mississippi Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Rock River Foundation.
Support for the Delta Blues Foudation, Inc has been provided by explore.org, a direct charitable activity of the Annenberg Foundation.
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Museum Contact information
#1 Blues Alley Lane
Clarksdale, MS 38614
Phone: 662-627-6820
Email: info@deltabluesmuseum.org