Submitted Photo Minot Area Community Foundation presented the Taube Museum with a $10,000 donation. From left are Perry Olson, MACF; Jason Zimmerman, MACF; Rachel Alfaro, Taube; and Andrea Hood, MACF.

The Minot Area Community Foundation has granted $10,000 to the Lillian and Coleman Taube Museum of Art through the Mike & Dorothy Dolan Fund to help fund the purchase and installation of a new wheelchair lift.

The Taube’s previous wheelchair lift was out of commission for nearly two years, making the historical building inaccessible in downtown Minot. The building’s layout requires stairs to access all gallery spaces, so the lift is imperative for those with mobility restrictions to be able to enjoy exhibits.

Since the installation of the new lift in April of this year, Taube staff have noticed the lift being used almost daily, indicating the significance of an accessible building.

“All of us at the Taube are thrilled to have our facility accessible again,” said Rachel Alfaro, Taube executive director. “It is so important to us that the arts are readily available to everyone in the community, and we cannot be more grateful to those who have supported the replacement of our lift.

We will continue to make improvements to our facility and programming because art is for everyone.”

With the replacement of the wheelchair lift, barrier-free access is available to the upper and lower galleries, which include a new permanent exhibit called the Sketchbook Project. Shelves within the gallery are available for the public to browse some 28,000 sketchbooks from artists around the world.

“So much of what we do at the foundation is about creating and supporting opportunities in our communities” said Jason Zimmerman, president of Minot Area Community Foundation. “One of the basic tenets of opportunity is accessibility. Once again, regardless of ability, all patrons of the Taube have an opportunity to experience the installations and offerings on multiple floors.”