[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] In a ceremony in Washington D.C., the Museo de Arte de Ponce (Ponce Museum of Art]) recently received the National Medal from the Institute of Museums and Library Services of the United States. Read full article at El Nuevo Día.

The Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP) was invited by the Institute of Museums and Library Services of the United States [Instituto de Museos y Servicios Bibliotecarios de los Estadios Unidos (IMLS)] to the annual award ceremony of the National Medal, an event held in Washington D.C. and presided by Crosby Kemper, director of the IMLS.

The National Medal is the highest honor presented annually to museums and libraries located on US soil that, through their programs and services, have made an extraordinary contribution to the communities they serve.

The MAP received this important distinction in 2021. But, due to the pandemic, the ceremony was not held in person, so in 2022 the winning libraries and museums, from both years, came together in a significant recognition event and fraternization held at the historic Anderson House, in the federal capital.

The 2021 National Medal was awarded to the Ponce Museum of Art for its extraordinary community work after the earthquake that affected the southwest of the island in 2020 and the digital programming it developed to meet the needs of the population in the face of the global emergency that the COVID 19 pandemic caused.

After the earthquake, the institution launched the program “El Museo sale a la calle” [The Museum goes out to the street], presenting art workshops that provided hundreds of people with the purpose of channeling emotions through painting. These workshops were offered free of charge in shelters, schools, under tents, National Guard centers, and open spaces where people—whose homes were damaged—spent the day and at times even stayed overnight. The MAP visited the most affected populations in Ponce and municipalities in the area.

Likewise, when the Covid-19 pandemic reached the island and the recommendation for preventive isolation kept the population confined to their homes, the MAP reacted quickly by developing the ConectARTE program, which it carried out through its social networks for more than one year. [. . .]

[Photo above by Shannon Finney/Shannon Finney Photography: On behalf of the Ponce Museum of Art, receiving the recognition were, from left to right, María Magriñá Catinchi, Communications Manager, Rubí Rodríguez Bustillo, Deputy Director of Operations and Sustainability, and Sofia Cánepa Ekdhal, Head of the Education and Empowerment Programs Department of Museum Communities. The recognition was presented by Crosby Kemper, director of the Institute of Museums and Library Services (to the right).]

Excerpts translated by Ivette Romero. For full article, see https://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/cultura/notas/el-museo-de-arte-de-ponce-recibe-la-medalla-nacional-en-washington-dc/

Also see
https://www.facebook.com/museoarteponce 
https://museoarteponce.org/en/museo-de-arte-de-ponce-recognized-as-a-2021recipient-of-nations-highest-museum-and-library-honor
https://www.imls.gov/our-work/national-medal-museum-and-library-service/2021-national-medal-museum-and-library-service