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Preserving America’s Diverse Heritage
January 31 and February 1, 2008
High Museum of Art and Woodruff Arts Center
Atlanta, Georgia
Webcasts
now available!
Collections that tell the story of America’s
diverse cultures face many challenges, from the handling of
culturally sensitive objects, to caring for oral history archives,
to difficulties in attracting funding. “Preserving America’s
Diverse Heritage” provided both information and inspiration
to help participants care for significant collections and
mobilize support in their communities. This forum, like all
aspects of the Connecting to Collections initiative,
gave particular focus to the needs of small to medium-sized
museums, libraries, and archives.
The forum’s speakers were top conservators and other
distinguished professionals from throughout the nation. They
addressed issues of particular importance to diverse institutions—caring
for objects of cultural sensitivity and photographs and audio-visual
materials—as well as issues that affect most collecting
institutions, such as the need for improved storage and emergency
planning. One panel discussed ways of enhancing public outreach
and fund-raising on behalf of collections.
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Lonnie Bunch |
Lonnie Bunch, Director of the Smithsonian’s National
Museum of African American History and Culture, was the keynote
speaker. Sven Haakanson, Executive Director of the Alutiiq
Museum in Kodiak, Alaska and recent recipient of a MacArthur
Foundation Fellowship, Loretta Parham, Director of the Woodruff
Library of the Atlanta University Center, and Susana Leval,
Director Emeritus of El Museo del Barrio, provided an overview
of the rich collections held by diverse institutions. Other
experts included nationally recognized photograph conservator
Debra Hess Norris of the University of Delaware/Winterthur
and Alan Lewis, who has advised both the Library of Congress
and the National Archives on preservation of audio-visual
materials.
As was the case at the Connecting to Collections national
summit, held in Washington DC in June, 2007, the forum provided
extensive opportunities for participants to get to know each
other and the representatives of funding agencies and national
organizations who will attend.
Although invitations were sent to individuals who came to
the attention of forum organizers, participation was open
to any interested staff and board members of museums, libraries
and archives.
Sponsors:
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