As 2023 comes to a close, we would like to thank all our members, friends, volunteers, family, sponsors, and other generous people and entities for their support of this organization. We are celebrating the Museum’s 38th year (November 8) all because of the hard work and generosity of our community – our BMCC family.
This year, we are seeking year-end donations to assist in two areas: The Curatorial/Community History Departments and Capital Improvements (a new roof).
The Curatorial & Community History Departments are arguably the most important part of the Basque Museum. Without them, we wouldn’t have collections, oral histories, artifacts, photos, etc. We wouldn’t be a Museum really at all. These departments (led by two full time staff and a few contractors) collect oral histories often times traveling for several days to meet with people and record, manage interns from the Basque Country, University of Idaho and Boise State, accession (catalog, label, photograph, protect) photos, artifacts, documents, etc, store them safely (which takes lots of time and special materials), and most visible, create the exhibits you see in each of the galleries! These exhibits do not just come together overnight. They take more than a year of planning in many cases, and require several additional people to research, design, paint & prep spaces, and install. If we are able, we also work with outside organizations to temporarily use exhibits already created. They require shipping or reprinting before installing. In the end, the Curatorial and Community History Departments are the heart of the Museum.
Capital Improvements, though never as sexy as exhibits, programs, and other parts of the Museum, are just as necessary to fund. In 2024, we will be replacing the roof on the main Museum building, and in 2025 work will be done on the Boardinghouse and Carriage house roofs. We work each year to save a little money and set it aside to help fund things like this, and over the last several years have been very successful doing so, paying for the majority of our HVAC systems that were replaced in 2022 from our savings accounts. We are now working to save some funds for the roof, but unfortunately, it will need to be replaced before enough funds can be put away. This is the second option for year end appeal in 2023.
In the end, this organization, including Boiseko Ikastola, would not be heading into its 38th year without the incredible generosity of so many of our members. We appreciate every form of giving from financial support to time and skills, all of which have made this organization grow so much from a small space in the Cyrus Jacobs Uberuaga House to the building we are in now, adding Boiseko Ikastola (which is at full capacity), a website with an incredible amount of resources, traveling exhibits, programs, and so much more.
Should you choose to support the Basque Museum & Cultural Center with your year-end giving, know that it will be very much appreciated and will help support us as we continue to preserve, promote, and perpetuate Basque history and culture.
Please consider donating online at basquemuseum.eus/support/donations or by mailing a check to the Basque Museum & Cultural Center.
Again, a very heartfelt thank you for supporting the Basque Museum & Boiseko Ikastola in 2023, and we look forward to a fruitful 2024!