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Press Contact:
Priscilla Brendler
Executive Director
director@greaterhudson.org
914-592-6726
Greater Hudson Heritage Network's Awards for Excellence program seeks to recognize and commend exceptional efforts among GHHN members. Awards are made to projects that exemplify creativity and professional vision resulting in a contribution to the preservation and interpretation of the historic scene, material culture, and diversity of the region.
The awards will be presented at the GHHN ‘Embracing Innovation’ Conference on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, at the Reid Castle on the picturesque grounds of Manhattanville University in Purchase, New York (Westchester County)
2024 Awards for Excellence are presented to:
Boscobel House and Gardens Staff
Boscobel House & Gardens
Garrison (Putnam)
This Individual/Staff Award recognizes the Boscobel House & Gardens Staff for their swift, proactive response and action to protect people and artifacts immediately following the collapse of the Library ceiling in Boscobel’s Historic House Museum, the rollout of their emergency response plan, program pivots, and efforts to translate disaster into educational opportunity.
Culper Spy Day
Three Village Historical Society
Setauket (Suffolk)
This Program Award is in recognition of the Culper Spy Day Program. Celebrating its tenth year, Culper Spy Day is a vibrant collaboration of community, and a living history show like no other. Partnering with 14 local historic sites and hosting an additional 24 museums, authors, artists, and organizations to put on a living history event, the Three Village Historical Society’s Culper Spy Day attracts 2,000+ visitors from around the country and the globe as a must-see tourist destination. On-site are historical re-enactors, colonial cooking demonstrations, a scavenger hunt, live music on historical instruments, vintage lawn games for children, and an Author's Row featuring books about the Culper Spy Ring for all ages - and it’s all free and open to the public!
Digital Tapestry Project
Joint Nominees:
The East Hampton Historical Society, East Hampton (Suffolk)
Oysterponds Historical Society, Orient (Suffolk)
Oyster Bay Railroad Museum, Oyster Bay (Nassau)
This Project Award is awarded to the East Hampton Historical Society in East Hampton, NY, the Oysterponds Historical Society in Orient, NY, and the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum in Oyster Bay, NY, for engaging and educating modern audiences through a series of history-based augmented reality experiences known as Digital Tapestry, which includes the free 1776AR and TRAR augmented reality apps. Each app uses augmented reality technology to superimpose 3D animated versions of historical figures or local history experts over a user’s mobile device. 1776AR and TRAR were designed to help visitors better visualize historical events and, at the same time, engage younger patrons who are used to interacting on their personal/mobile devices. The apps provide an immersive experience, making the subject matter more stimulating and enjoyable for visitors of all ages while expanding and complementing the museums’ offerings.
Free First Fridays
Hudson River Museum
Yonkers (Westchester)
This Program Award recognizes Free First Fridays, a successful new initiative at the Hudson River Museum offering free admission and special programs on the first Friday of each month from 5–8pm. Free First Fridays is much more than free admission to the galleries, however. It aligns with the HRM's core values by helping to attract new audiences, engage current audiences in new ways, and emphasize interdisciplinary programming. Responding to the community's need for hours at times that were accessible, the HRM comes alive with a dynamic and diverse array of programs, including dance performances, live music, DJs, theater productions and music in our planetarium, collaborations with community-based arts groups, and sketching workshops in the galleries (conducted in English and Spanish). An unequivocal success, the series has attracted more than 1,000 visitors from 102 zip codes across the region since its inception in November 2023.
“Leisurama”
Montauk Historical Society
Montauk (Suffolk)
This Project Award recognizes the immersive, interactive exhibit "Leisurama," the first large-scale exhibition installed at the Montauk Historical Society's new headquarters in the historic Carl Fisher House. It recreates the interior of the iconic mid-century Leisurama house in 1965, placed in a historical context and filled with period-appropriate props and original furniture. For those old enough to remember the 60s, the exhibit is like a walk down Memory Lane; for those who have ever been in a Leisurama, it’s like coming home; and for everybody who enters, it’s a fun, accessible, educational museum experience; while for the Montauk Historical Society, it’s an effective way to help fulfill its mission of preserving and sharing the history of Montauk.
“Light up the World”
Lewis Latimer House Museum
Flushing (Queens)
This Project Award recognizes the Lewis Latimer House Museum's new permanent exhibition, “Light up the World,” a complete renovation of the house and a new meticulously designed exhibition. This new look honors Latimer's remarkable life, legacy, and impact and promotes historically diverse & culturally responsive STEAM education to inspire tomorrow’s problem-solvers. Each gallery explores a facet of Latimer’s far-reaching and layered world - through his imagination, creativity, and perseverance that carried through generations of the Latimer family, the high stakes environment of electrical innovation, and the community advocacy that saved Latimer’s historic home.
“Queen of the Night” Costume Conservation
The Sembrich Museum
Bolton Landing (Warren)
This Project Award is in recognition of the successful preservation of Marcella Sembrich's “Queen of the Night” costume. The gown, currently the centerpiece of The Sembrich’s 2024 studio centennial exhibition, “Mastering Mozart,” was worn by Sembrich in her role for the Metropolitan Opera’s 1900 premiere production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). It is the single largest conservation project for a collection item completed in the organization’s history. Gwen Spicer completed conservation activities, and the extensive treatments included encapsulation of the majority of the costume in fine, custom-dyed netting, stabilization of different components of the couture gown, train, and veil, recreation of one shoulder element based on historical photos, and the re-attachment of hundreds of sequins. This project could not have been realized without the efforts of The Sembrich’s Director of Institutional Advancement, Caleb Eick, who not only raised the needed $72,000 through grant funding, corporate support, and individual contributions but also curated and executed the centennial season exhibition.
Tarrytown Lighthouse Restoration
Stephen Tilly, Architect
Dobbs Ferry (Westchester)
This Project Award recognizes the many-faceted restoration of the 1883 Tarrytown Lighthouse and the acumen and deftness of the design and construction team in completing the restoration. The completed restoration includes a working replica of the original fourth-order Fresnel lens, a new electronic strike mechanism for the bell, installation of a cofferdam following DEC strictures to hold back Hudson waters, repair of the cast iron caisson, and fabrication of cast iron decorative elements that had failed or disappeared. Now accessible from Westchester’s RiverWalk and gleaming in the black, white, and red colors of its most recent period of use, the Lighthouse is a beacon to the river and has become a symbol for the revival of the waterfront in Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, and other communities along the Hudson.
The Heckscher Museum of Art Soundwalk at Dove/Torr Cottage
The Heckscher Museum of Art
Huntington (Suffolk)
This Project Award recognizes The Heckscher Museum of Art’s creation of a Soundwalk at the Dove/Torr Cottage (Centerport, NY) for the 25th anniversary of its stewardship of the historic artists' property. Museum staff collaborated with community members, students, and local artists to create this new self-guided Soundwalk, which provides visitors 24/7, 365 days a year, access to the historic site on any smartphone via the Museum’s app on Bloomberg Connects. The multi-faceted project involved a collaboration with Girls Inc. Long Island, engaging middle-school students in the design process, along with the development of a Museum Accessibility Advisory Group providing advice and expertise to enhance accessible interpretive material for all visitors to enjoy - increasing accessibility through on-site informational signage which includes braille and 3D tactile images, QR codes, and tactile maps of the terrain.
Congratulations to all the winners!
The Awards Ceremony and poster session featuring winning projects will take place at the 2024 GHHN Annual Conference.
Registration is required. To register for the Annual Conference, please click the "Register Now" button below.
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