The ASU Museum announced Tuesday the designation of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in the amount of $39,983.

The planning grant will allow the museum to undergo several renovations and revisions to its content and design. According to museum officials, the grant will allow for conceptual design elements, refined content, and a budgetary estimation for a potential exhibition on the Delta musical staple, rockabilly. As a part of this project, the museum will also explore formats for a music trail in Northeast Arkansas that articulates with the exhibit and connects with contingent tourist districts in the region.

In a university press release, Dr. Marti Allen, director of the ASU Museum, noted her particular interest in developing the rockabilly project.

“This project is part of ASU Museum’s comprehensive rockabilly initiative that started with ‘Rockabilly Boogiefest’ concerts in 2013 and 2014,” Allen said. “Once we have conceptual design plans in hand, we’ll be in a strong position to seek major funding to produce the exhibition itself.”

Tentatively titled “Rockabilly! Musical Lens on the 1950s,” the exhibit in planning will examine the roots of rockabilly, how it reflects socio-economic conditions in post-World War II America, and its role as a harbinger of societal transition from the 1950s to the 1960s.

“An extraordinary number of homegrown musicians in the Northeast Arkansas-Memphis region are affiliated with the rockabilly genre,” Allen said. “For us, rockabilly is more than just a style of music — it reflects the story of our region during a momentous period in history—the 1950s.”

The exhibition will explore the musical tradition that gained headway in the delta in the mid-1950s. The museum will utilize a digital app designed to coincide with the content of the exhibition and the interests of visitors.

According to Allen, the ASU museum received support from several legislators to receive the grant. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) wrote letters of support for the grant proposal, as well as endorsements for several other Delta regional attractions.