Swift gives $4M to Country Hall of Fame expansion
By CHRIS TALBOTT, Associated Press
May 17, 2012 8:26 AM CDT
In this Nov. 20, 2012 photo, Taylor Swift arrives at the 39th Annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Swift is donating $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to fund the 7,500 square foot-plus Taylor Swift Education Center in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)   (Associated Press)

Taylor Swift has taught a generation of kids to appreciate country music over the last five years. Now she's donating $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to make sure that education continues.

The gift is the largest given to the museum by an artist, officials said. It will fund the Taylor Swift Education Center, an exhibit and classroom space scheduled to open in 2014.

The new education center is part of the museum's $75 million expansion project that will include a new concert theater and more room for exhibits and archives.

The 22-year-old singer-songwriter is country music's top-selling artist. The six-time Grammy winner has taken the genre to Asia, Europe and Australia as well as the top of the U.S. pop charts.

One of her first public performances was on the museum's plaza. She also signed her record contract there.

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