VISIT CURRENT EXHIBITION:
Before You Now: Capturing the Self in Portraiture and Before You Now: Photographic Transmutation
About the Census
Every 10 years, the U.S. Census counts every resident in the nation. A complete and accurate count of California’s population is essential to the state. The Lancaster Museum of Art and History and the neighborhoods which immediately surround the Museum, historically, have had high Low Response Scores (LRS). Neighborhoods with Low Response Scores typically go undercounted and remain underrepresented and underfunded.
For the first time, the Census participation will be conducted primarily through online self-responses instead of hard copy mailing efforts. This change has the potential to drastically impact state and county funding. Many critical factors can be barriers to participation in the Census including education, race, languages spoken, poverty level, homelessness, immigration status and level of trust.
The Lancaster Museum of Art and History believes that change happens at the speed of trust. The Museum has found the best way to build trust between an organization and its community, breaking down these barriers, is by embedding artists who reflect the communities in which they live and work, who look the same and speak the same language. Through a series of workshops, community gatherings, candid photography, and a public exhibition, the artists-in-residence will increase the self-enumerated responses of these identified Low Response Score (LRS) neighborhoods in the 2020 Census.
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This is especially important for areas like the Antelope Valley. In the Antelope Valley, approximately 101,320 people are living in Hard to Survey (HTS) Block Groups. The Museum of Art and History and the neighborhoods that immediately surround the Museum are designated as Very High or High Low Response Score (LRS) neighborhoods. The Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation (LMPAF), the Museum of Art and History and the City of Lancaster believe that organizations and community leaders must be proactive, educating, encouraging and empowering residents to participate in the Census!
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Generously sponsored by

Housing Corporation of America




