Preserving the Auburn Avenue Research Library Art and Artifacts Collection

FAIN: PG-51213-11

Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System (Atlanta, GA 30303-1089)
Kerrie Cotten Williams (Project Director: May 2010 to January 2012)

The hiring of two consultants to conduct a preservation assessment and to recommend improvements in conservation and storage for a special collection of 130 objects that relate to African heritage throughout the world, with an emphasis on visual arts of the 20th century in the United States. Included in the collection are sculpture, paintings, quilts, and photographs, and among them are works by Romare Bearden, James Van Der Zee, and the Gee's Bend quilters.

With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant, the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History (AARL) will hire art conservators to: 1. Assess current conditions of the individual items included in the AARL Arts and Artifacts Collection; 2. Obtain recommendations for the care, conservation, and storage of the items in the collection; 3. Incorporate recommendations in the AARL building renovation and expansion project scheduled for Spring 2011; and 4. Increase awareness and skill level of Archives staff in the identification of conservation needs for artwork on paper.