Gretchen Bender Collection Preservation Assessment

FAIN: PG-50657-09

Mint Museum of Art (Charlotte, NC 28207-2012)
Carla M. Hanzal (Project Director: May 2008 to April 2011)

A conservation assessment of filmmaker Gretchen Bender's (1951-2004) collection of 325 videos in nine different formats, dating from 1984 to 2001, that document regional fine arts; and the purchase of an environmental monitor and preservation supplies to care for this collection.

With the requested $6,000 Preservation Assistance Grant from the NEH, The Mint Museum will contract with film archivist Kirston Johnson to conduct a two-day conservation assessment of the recently acquired Gretchen Bender video collection. The collection consists of approximately 325 videos in various formats dating from the 1980s to 2001. The goals of the assessment are to identify the conservation needs of the collection, establish estimates of needed conservation work and the time necessary to complete such work, prioritize the long-range plan for the preservation of works in the collection, and make recommendations for safely storing this collection of time-based media art. Based on her experience, the archivist anticipates that the videos will require basic preservation supplies such as labels, acid-free record storage boxes, and adequate steel shelving units, as well as an environmental monitoring system. She would return for a 3rd day to oversee the installation of the monitor.