WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19) recently announced $31,900 in funding to support the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. The grant, awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the American Rescue Plan Grants Program, will maintain Bethel Woods Center for the Arts’ preservation fellowship — the most ambitious fellowship program to date and a necessary addition as the museum overcomes pandemic-related interruptions.

“Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and other local organizations have been severely impacted by COVID-19,” said Rep. Delgado. “This essential American Rescue Plan funding will ensure Bethel Woods Center has the necessary resources to continue their preservation fellowship program and enhance visitors’ experiences. I will keep working to deliver support and investment to our upstate businesses, museums, and cultural centers.”

“We are deeply grateful to IMLS for providing this grant to continue the Preservation Fellowship and its significant work at the 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair site,” said Eric Frances, CEO of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. “Expanding our preservation work, while adding new ways to engage the public with our Museum, will help us to further build capacity for new programs and deepen conversations around a pivotal moment in our nation’s history.”  

As stewards of the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, located in Bethel, NY, continues to discover and develop the sacred grounds in order to preserve their integrity. Continuing the preservation fellowship will enhance and expand existing programming that has increased the museum's institutional capacity to respond to community needs, strengthen public programming, and partner with other community-based organizations. The fellowship encompasses oral histories, public engagement projects, and the opening of new areas of the 800-acre historic site to exploration and public use.