Preserving the Jackson State University Permanent Art Collection

FAIN: PG-51110-11

Jackson State University (Jackson, MS 39217-0001)
Charles Warren Carraway (Project Director: May 2010 to September 2012)

Hiring a consultant to conduct a general conservation survey of a collection in the Department of Art, which includes 300 paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, and ceramics by African American artists, such as Hale Woodruff, Elizabeth Catlett, Fred Fleminster, Mary Lovelace O'Neal, and Roland Freeman. The collection is used extensively for the exhibition and study of the African American heritage by the faculty, staff, students, and larger art historical community.

If selected, the National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant will support the on-site and off-site work of a fine art conservation consultant to develop a General Conservation Survey of Collections for the Department of Art at Jackson State University. The general conservation survey reports will cover collections care priorities, collections policies, environment (lighting, temperature, relative humidity, pests, and pollutants), exhibitions, storage, security, and disaster preparedness. The consultant will also prepare digital images for illustration. The final report will be provided as a pdf file on CD with additional hard copies. The final report will be used to create a long-range preservation plan and serve as a tool to obtain additional funding for collections care and treatment. Findings from the report will help support how to best use the collection for the art students on campus as well as implementing public exhibitions of the collections.