project leader
Susan U
location
West 48th Street
(International Village within the Clark-Fulton)
latest update rss
No updates yet.

the project

Art Ledger was the first African American to own and operate his own private taxidermy business in the United States! In addition to operating this business for over 40 years, he was a founder of the Ohio Taxidermy Association and the West Virginia Taxidermy Association, serving as president on both of their boards. Art has won countless awards in Ohio, West Virginia, and other states for his artistry.

Now, Art would like to take the next step to preserve his legacy and give back to the neighborhood. His dream is to transform the shop on West 48th Street into a small museum that will feature native Ohio wildlife, as well as tell his amazing story and give a peek into the secretive art of taxidermy. 

Art is a beloved member of his community. A member of the local block club, he started a garden on his street and regularly gives back to the neighborhood. Whether that is through free meals or money to those in need, he is always giving. 

This funding will help to support his dream. The building is in need of repairs and construction to transform the spaces from a taxidermy shop into a museum fit for the public. This will mean upgrading the bathrooms, building out walls, and creating displays. Art will be the curator of the native Ohio wildlife exhibits, purchasing or creating the mounts for display. 

the steps

Already in progress: 

1. Registered as a 503 c3 Non-Profit Organization

2. Research into museums, connections with other taxidermy and museum communities, such as Gotham Taxidermy in NYC and The Field Museum in Chicago, who will be doing a feature blog poston Art in the near future. 

3. Building the board. 

4. Digitizing images and video for display, organizing files

5. Facebook page creation

Next: 

1. Construction of interior space - wall build out

2. Bathroom renovations - accessible for public use

3. Display creation - cases, mounts, labels, video display

4. Continue to build out board, volunteers, staff

5. Website Creation, listing on Atlast Obscura, taxidermy magazines, etc. 

why we're doing it

The International Village Wildlife Museum will be open to anyone in the community and beyond. Local schools we hope to engage include Thomas Jefferson International Newcomers Academy, Clark Elementary, Walton Elementary, and more. This is a unique opportunity for students of all ages to explore wildlife in a safe, intimate setting in the middle of a the city.

The museum will also serve as a unique spot for travelers who love unusual museums and tourist attractions. They may learn about native Ohio Wildlife, taxidermy, and the accomplishments of a local historical figure in Art Ledger. 

This museum will also preserve the legacy of an important but overlooked member of the African American business community and a veteran who is responsible for starting a business, an accompanying school (Art's School of Taxidermy), and 2 state associations (Ohio and West Virginia). 

 

budget

Disbursed Budget 6.14.21:

Item
 
 
Cost per item
 
 
# Items
 
 
Total
 
 
Construction on gallery wall
 
 
2000
 
 
 
 
 
2000
 
 
Purchase of new mounts (complete fish collection, etc)
 
 
500
 
 
6
 
 
3000
 
 
Upgrade to public bathroom
 
 
1000
 
 
 
 
 
1000
 
 
Display build-out
 
 
2000
 
 
 
 
 
2000
 
 
Misc
 
 
165.25
 
 
 
 
 
165.25
 
 
Total
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
$8165.25

 



TOTAL RAISED = $8,325.00
ioby Fiscal Sponsorship Fee (5%) N/A
ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) $159.75
TOTAL TO DISBURSE= $8,165.25

 

 

Original Budget:

Gallery build-out construction: 8,000

Display furniture build-out: 2,000

New mounts to display - creation and purchase of materials: 5,000

PROJECT FUNDING NEEDED =    $15,000
ioby Platform Fee     $35
"ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) (Donation processing fee does not apply to match funding.)"    $370
TOTAL TO RAISE =    $15,405
Donation processing fees apply to donations only. 100% of match funding goes to projects. Please note, fees are estimated here and final numbers may change based on the final amount raised and amount of match funding applied to this campaign.    

updates

Sorry, but this project doesn't have any updates yet.

photos

This is where photos will go once we build flickr integration

donors

  • Denise K.
  • Tom Fishburn
  • Kayli S.
  • Gotham Taxidermy/Divya Anantharaman
  • Divya Anantharaman/Gotham Taxidermy
  • On behalf of Mickey Kwapis
  • On behalf of Brooke Weston
  • On behalf of Oracle KC
  • On behalf of Half Embalmed/Simone Smith
  • On behalf of Dark Interiors
  • Jessica H