American Art Web Collections Interpretation & Access project

FAIN: GE-50183-10

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston, MA 02115-5523)
Jenna Fleming (Project Director: February 2009 to May 2010)

Development of a new online interpretation and search framework for the Americas collection that will serve as an extensible model for all collection areas of the museum.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) requests a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in support of its Collections Interpretation & Access project which, in its first phase, will focus on creating a new interpretive online resource for the Museum's American Art collection. In the fall of 2010, the MFA will open a new wing for its unparalleled Art of the Americas collection. This resource will illuminate key themes of the collection; deepen visitors' engagement with the artworks by providing rich learning and discovery materials; and will offer more dynamic interpretation of the collection for virtual visitors. The MFA's collection of American art is a rich resource through which to examine the evolution of art in the Americas and to explore the multi-faceted nature of the American story. The online resource will draw out central themes of the collection for the public to provide them with new perspectives on American art, history, and experience.