This grant is part of a record capital-project funding announcement by NYSCA, which grants over $42 million to 144 capital projects across New York State. The NYSCA award follows a recent award by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to aid in the restoration of Sick Bay, highlighting the noteworthy public backing and significance of this crucial historic preservation endeavor.

Allowing visitors to access more of the ship’s historic spaces has been a longstanding goal of the Museum. Currently, only 44 percent of the ship’s historic spaces are open to the public. Over the next 2.5 years, the Museum will complete the necessary infrastructure work to open up this fascinating historic naval medical facility and adjacent spaces to the public for the first time since the ship's decommissioning.

This project is an important step for the Museum’s next phase. The goal: to create a dynamic and engaging 21st-century curatorial interpretation that brings history to life through immersive stories and exhibitions. These exhibitions will utilize new technologies and augmented and virtual reality elements to inspire every visitor's imagination and allow them to explore the Museum's most intriguing spaces.

About the New York State Council on the Arts
NYSCA preserves and advances the arts and culture that make New York State an exceptional place to live, work and visit. NYSCA upholds the right of all New Yorkers to experience the vital contributions the arts make to our communities, education, economic development, and quality of life. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York State, NYSCA will award record funding in FY 2023, providing support across the full breadth of the arts.

NYSCA further advances New York's creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, NYSCA is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch. For more information on NYSCA, please visit arts.ny.gov, and follow NYSCA's