Sustainable Preservation for Innovative Teaching and Learning

FAIN: PF-271941-20

Gettysburg College (Gettysburg, PA 17325-1483)
Shannon Egan (Project Director: January 2020 to March 2024)

A planning project to assess and develop sustainable preventive conservation and storage strategies to protect a collection of 2,700 fine arts objects. The assessment would include an evaluation of the 1890’s-era, 6,540 square foot McPherson House to determine how it could be adapted to satisfy needs for collection storage, educational programming, and improved access for Gettysburg College students, faculty, and the general public, while also achieving energy efficiency.

Gettysburg College seeks a planning grant of $50,000 to assess and develop sustainable preventive conservation and storage strategies to protect its Fine Arts Collection. As an undergraduate college of liberal arts and sciences the Fine Arts Collection is central to teaching and learning in the humanities.

Associated Products

Sustaining Collections, Fostering Collaboration, and Envisioning a New Academic Art Museum (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Sustaining Collections, Fostering Collaboration, and Envisioning a New Academic Art Museum
Author: Shannon Egan
Author: Wendy Jessup
Author: Michael Henry
Author: Sandra Vicchio
Abstract: Finding a way to sustain art collections and create new spaces for visitor engagement is a challenge for most institutions, especially academic museums and galleries in the wake of the pandemic. This session is a detailed dive into the strategies and outcomes of a project supported by the NEH Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections Grant. In 2020 Gettysburg College received funding to assess the feasibility of a historic house for art storage, exhibitions, and teaching. The goal of this project is to foster collaboration among diverse constituencies, strategically consider opportunities and challenges posed by the property, envision a new academic art museum, and provide a cultural hub for the community. The grant afforded an external team of experts to consider the intersections of architecture, collections conservation, and environmental management with the requirements for historic preservation, collection storage planning, sustainability, and interdisciplinary pedagogy at the College. Members of the project team discuss their approach to creating a shared vision among stakeholders; the defining and articulation of plans with actions toward a larger goal; and how they cultivate resilience in long-term project planning. From this discussion with professionals who have worked closely as a collaborative team with museums both large and small, attendees will learn how communication and collaboration with key stakeholders at the early stages of a project can lead to practical support and exciting results.
Date: 11/11/2022
Primary URL: http://midatlanticmuseums.org/annual-meeting/
Primary URL Description: MAAM Annual Meeting Program
Conference Name: Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums conference

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