Creating a Sustainable Environment for the Preservation of ASM’s Anthropological Photographs

FAIN: PF-260771-18

Arizona Board of Regents (Tucson, AZ 85721-0073)
Teresa Kathleen Moreno (Project Director: December 2017 to June 2021)
Suzanne L. Eckert (Project Director: June 2021 to present)
Teresa Kathleen Moreno (Co Project Director: June 2021 to present)

An implementation project to create a secure and controlled, multi-climate suite for the Arizona State Museum’s anthropological photographic collection, which contains over 525,000 prints, negatives, and transparencies providing visual documentation of the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and technologies of the indigenous peoples of the American Southwest.

The Arizona State Museum requests $350,000 from the NEH SCHC Implementation Grant Program to assist with the implementation of a renovation plan to create a sustainable preservation environment for the storage of its preeminent anthropological photographic collection. The plan was made possible by funds from an NEH SCHC Planning Grant, and entails the renovation of an existing collection storage room to create a secure and controlled, multi-climate suite (cool, cold, and frozen) for the long-term preservation of ASM’s photographic collection in accordance with current conservation standards. The renovation will include upgraded mechanical, electrical, fire protection, security and compact shelving. Preservation conditions for the photographic media were determined in consultation with specialists from the Image Permanence Institute. A schematic design and cost analysis for the plan were developed in collaboration with UA Facilities Management, IPI, and GLHN Architects & Engineers.