Hmong Cultural Center New Storefront Museum Implementation Project

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2023 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$75,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Hmong Cultural Center
Status
In Progress
Start Date
October 2022
End Date
September 2023
Activity Type
Education/Outreach/Engagement
Counties Affected
Anoka
Benton
Dakota
Hennepin
Morrison
Ramsey
Sherburne
Stearns
Washington
Anoka
Carver
Dakota
Hennepin
Ramsey
Scott
Washington
Anoka
Benton
Dakota
Hennepin
Morrison
Ramsey
Sherburne
Stearns
Washington
Anoka
Carver
Dakota
Hennepin
Ramsey
Scott
Washington
Project Overview

The New HCC Storefront Museum Implementation Project will involve the development of a guided tour app & new curriculum for school groups based on MN's K-12 standards. The project will also include a new strategic marketing plan to assist the museum in achieving future attendance & outreach goals. Finally, a new tour guide will be hired to meet public demand for tours in the new museum space which is intended to promote cross-cultural awareness and understanding of Hmong culture and history.

Legal Citation / Subdivision
MN Laws 2021, First Special Session Chapter 1, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 8 (d)
Appropriation Language

2022-2023 Cultural Heritage and Community Identity Grants - Spring 2022

2023 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$75,000
Direct expenses
$72,973
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

A Guided Tour App for the Museum Successfully Created. The App will provide audio and written narratives for major cultural objects and exhibit panels included in the museum.

Two New School Curriculums Successfully Created. These curriculums will be developed in consultation with two Hmong-origin school-teachers. These curriculums focused on Hmong Contributions to Minnesota and Basics of Hmong Culture (Language, Clans, Religion, New Year) will be tied to specific Minnesota K-12 standards in Social Studies & the Arts.

A strategic marketing plan for the new storefront museum involving a SWOT analysis & a detailed set of marketing objectives and tactics to be presented in a workplan spreadsheet and calendar format successfully created.

One new Tour Guide hired to help lead group tours of the new Storefront Museum space.

Hmong Cultural Center will track the total number of museum visitors over the grant period. Hmong Cultural Center will also track the number of tour groups and the specific type of group (school, church, community organization, corporate employer, etc). who visit the museum over the grant period. It is our goal to serve at least 1,500 museum visitors over the grant period.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Our project in our proposal had the following measurable outcomes:

1. A Guided Tour App for the Museum Successfully Created.

2. Two New School Curriculums Successfully Created.

3. A strategic marketing plan for the new storefront museum involving a SWOT analysis & a detailed set of marketing objectives and tactics to be presented in a workplan spreadsheet and calendar format successfully created.

4. One new Tour Guide hired to help lead group tours of the new Storefront Museum space.

The following progress has been made to date in achieving the project objectives.

1. Guided Tour app - A contract was signed and orientation meeting was held in February 2023 with STQRY, a museum web app developer to work on the guided tour app for the museum over the remaining duration of the grant.

2. New Museum Curriculums for Schools - In February 2023, discussions were held with consultant Suzi Hunn of Teach Your Thing (and formerly with the MN Historical Society). about working on designing and producing our new museum school curriculums focused on Hmong Wedding and Funeral Songs, Hmong Sung Poetry and Basics of Hmong Culture which we will be completing later this year as part of the grant.

3. Strategic Marketing Plan for Museum - Elaine Davy - Our Marketing Consultant Contractor has completed a comprehensive Business and Marketing Plan for the Museum. The Business and Marketing Plan was completed in December 2022 through January 2023.

4. New Museum Tour Guide - A new museum tour guide, Pa Kou Vang was hired in February 2023.

While there is still much work to be done in the coming months we feel we are off to a strong start in setting the groundwork to achieve the objectives of the New Hmong Cultural Center Storefront Museum Implementation Project as outlined in our proposal.

; Our project in our proposal had the following measurable outcomes:1. A Guided Tour App for the Museum Successfully Created.2. Two New School Curriculums Successfully Created.3. A strategic marketing plan for the new storefront museum involving a SWOT analysis & a detailed set of marketing objectives and tactics to be presented in a workplan spreadsheet and calendar format successfully created.4. Tour Guides were hired to help lead group tours of the new Storefront Museum space. The following progress has been made to date in achieving the project objectives.

1. Guided Tour app - A contract was signed in February 2023 with STQRY, a museum web app developer. The grant project manager Mark Pfeifer used STQRY's museum app software to build a new museum app the HCC museum which launched the summer of 2023. 2. New Museum Curriculums for Schools - In February 2023, discussions were held with consultant Suzi Hunn of Teach Your Thing (and formerly with the MN Historical Society). about working on designing and producing several new museum school curriculums. By late September, Ms. Hunn had completed 9 new curriculums for our museum aligned with Minnesota's K-12 Arts and Culture and Social Studies standards. Turtle Printing was contracted to print the new curriculums. All of the curriculums were printed by the end of September 2023. 3. Strategic Marketing Plan for Museum - Elaine Davy - Our Marketing Consultant Contractor completed a comprehensive Business and Marketing Plan for the Museum. The Business and Marketing Plan was completed in December 2022 through January 2023.4. New Museum Tour Guide - A P/T new museum tour guide, Pa Kou Vang was hired in February 2023. An additional P/T tour guide, Pa Soua Vue was also hired to meet the extensive demand for school field trips encountered in the 2023 Spring School Field Trip season.

Source of Additional Funds

N.A. Grants from the St. Paul Foundation ($20,000) and the Minnesota State Arts Board ($15,000) have also been used to support museum expenses during the grant period.

Recipient Board Members
Shuly Her, Board Chair
Kamai (Dao) Xiong, Vice Chair
Maiyia Yang, Secretary
Vong Thao, Treasurer
Bee Vang, Director
Chad Lee, Director; Shuly Her, Board Chair
Dao (Kamai Xiong), Vice Chair
Maiyia Kasouaher, Secretary
Vong Thao, Treasurer
Chad Lee, Director
Project Manager
First Name
Mark
Last Name
Pfeifer
Phone
6519179937
Email
markpfeifer@hmongcc.org
Administered By
Administered by
Location

987 Ivy Avenue East
St. Paul, MN 55106

Phone
651-774-0205
Email the Agency