Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation is proud to announce a $20,000 Signature Grant to the New Brunswick Museum to support the digital project New Brunswick Mat Registry: Sharing Our New Brunswick Mat Hooking Heritage -Building a Permanent Virtual Exhibition. Signature Grants are awarded by the Board of Directors to support exceptional opportunities for the visual arts in New Brunswick.
As a presenting sponsor, SHMF aims to contribute to the preservation of a fulsome anecdotal and technical history of one of New Brunswick’s oldest art forms. Often born of necessity or financial need, hand crafted mats can transcend the utilitarian; they reveal the creativity and spirit of their makers. SHMF salutes the scores of dedicated volunteers who engaged hundreds of individuals to catalogue the stories of these heirlooms. Together with the professional staff of the New Brunswick Museum, the field team members of the NB Mat Registry are creating a rich resource that will delight contemporary art lovers and become an invaluable permanent treasury of information for future cultural researchers.
The support of the foundation is given with great respect for the vision of all involved in the assembly of this virtual exhibition and the hope for an ongoing documentation of this heritage craft.