Hiring a specialist conservator to conduct a preservation assessment of approximately 100 selected works on paper, to record the condition of the works, and to help train the museum’s curatorial staff in stewardship practices for this media. The project would also support workshops for the general public to raise awareness on preventive care for works on paper. The collection includes American art from the Civil War era to the present day, including work by both regional and national artists, including Josef and Anni Albers and George Bellows, and the primary collection from Black Mountain College that dates from 1933 to 1957 and represents several of the most influential American artists of the 20^th century, such as John Rauschenberg, John Cage, and Jacob Lawrence. As a whole, the collection serves as an important center for modern and contemporary art and crafts and a significant educational resource for the western North Carolina region.

The Asheville Art Museum requests support for a conservation assessment of selected works on paper from its Permanent Collection. Funding will specifically support bringing a paper conservator to the Museum to record the condition of these works, determine conservation priorities, and help train the Museum’s curatorial staff on best practices for the storage of works on paper.

The retention of seven staff members, employment of several contractors, and the payment of stipends for ten humanities scholars to assist in the work of photographing and cataloging approximately 800 objects from the collection, as well as creating interpretive content for digital and physical exhibitions.

The Asheville Art Museum will undertake a three-pronged project to improve Collection access, interpretation, and evaluation. The project team will photograph and catalogue approximately 800 Collection objects focusing primarily on three-dimensional objects that have special significance to the Southern Appalachian region. Additionally, the Museum will convene a team of scholars to engage with these works and create interpretive content for digital and physical exhibitions, the Museum’s multimedia tour, and other public resources. Finally, the Museum will engage an exhibition evaluator to assess the Museum’s Collection installation Intersections in American Art. These activities will advance the Museum’s mission by serving our community with access to unique works of art, sharing stories that deepen our understanding of ourselves and our communities, and preserving knowledge of objects and archives that are inherent to our cultural heritage and understanding.