Purchase of archival housing and preservation supplies

FAIN: PG-263610-19

Canyon Cinema Foundation (San Francisco, CA 94124-2653)
Seth Mitter (Project Director: May 2018 to October 2022)

The purchase of archival housing and preservation supplies for a collection of 3,200 non-commercial, independent, and avant-garde works primarily by American West Coast and San Francisco Bay Area filmmakers.  The film collection includes works by over 250 artists including Stan Brakhage, Peter Hutton, and Chick Strand.  A historical document collection of 43 linear feet of paper and ephemera includes original artworks, printed catalogs, correspondence with filmmakers and exhibitors, photographs, postcards, posters, videocassettes, and the organization’s Cinemanews periodical.  Previous NEH grants supported a preservation assessment and the purchase of metal shelving.  Following the recommendations of the preservation consultant, the applicant would purchase appropriate materials to rehouse all film and paper materials and acquire data loggers to monitor temperature and humidity.

Canyon Cinema Foundation’s (CCF) collections of film and related paper material represent 90 years of independent, artist-made film history. CCF’s loan program for its circulating film print collection (over 3200 reels) supports programming and exhibition by educational and cultural institutions across the globe. CCF’s collections of historical documents are important to researchers studying the history and culture of independent filmmaking. CCF is seeking funding to continue implementing the recommendations of a 2017 preservation needs assessment of CCF’s collections. Purchase of housing that meets archival standards for film, paper ephemera and magnetic media will enable CCF to fulfill key recommendations of this assessment. Additional acquisition of recommended preservation supplies will support ongoing improvements in storage environment and management of our film and paper collections.