To supply and equip improved collection and education workshop facilities.

No project description available

Planning for an exhibition and related programming that focuses on the history of settlement to Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley.

The Chippewa Valley Museum (CVM) requests $40,000 to plan Intersections, a major exhibit and related programming. Everyone who lives in Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley today came from somewhere else or is descended from someone who did. This is true of Ojibwes, American Indians migrating here in the 17th century; Europeans who arrived in the 19th century lumber boom; Hmong refugees re-settled in the U.S. in the 1970s; and Somalis coming now to work in the poultry industry. Community formation is an exchange between people. Intersections between those here and those newly arrived have shaped Chippewa Valley communities, bringing energy and character to our region. Intersections developed from study of scholarly theories and re-interpretations and CVM's regional research and collecting. Nationally recognized scholars and museum specialists, and historians with regional research interests will advise the planning.

To support planning for a permanent exhibition on the history of the Chippewa Valley from 1850 to 1920.

To support a self-study to assess current programs and collections and develop strategies for interpreting the region's 20th-century history.

Implementation of a permanent exhibition, poster exhibition, plans for replication at other museums, catalog, object theater, and educational and public programs, on new scholarship regarding farm life in the U.S.

To support a traveling panel exhibition, a lecture and reading and discussion series, and a publication that explores the Hmong experience in America.

Ancillary public humanities programs to accompany the NEH on the Road: Wrapped in Pride traveling exhibition.

The Chippewa Valley Museum (CVM) requests $1,000 to support the cost of public humanities programming during installation of Wrapped in Pride in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. CVM has requested a double-booking period to allow sufficient time to engage regional interest and participation in this unusual opportunity. We have already begun to contact the regional African American community for help in planning and program development. Our preliminary plan includes a preview reception, gallery talks and activities for classroom groups, homeschoolers, youth organizations and families; presentations for teachers; and a special section on CVM's website. We will encourage other area organizations to provide related programming, such as asking area libraries to create book displays and incorporating an exhibit visit into University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire American, African American and art history classes.

The purchase of window shades, storage shelving equipment, and re-housing supplies to preserve the collections in the Schlegelmilch House, a 1871 to 1906 merchant’s home that reflects middle-class domestic life during Eau Claire’s lumber boom.  Collection items include furniture made by Herman Schlegelmilch, the German immigrant who built the house, an 1875 diary by 13-year-old Louise Schlegelmilch, and paintings by regional artist S.O. Lund that were collected by the family.  The house and collections are central to this regional museum’s interpretive programs for students, including working with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s public history classes to examine issues related to public programs, interpretation, historic preservation, and site management.

The Chippewa Valley Museum (CVM) requests $6,000 for equipment and supplies to improve exhibit and storage conditions for 2,105 objects housed at our 1871-1906 Schlegelmilch House in downtown Eau Claire. Four generations of the Schlegelmilch-Barland family lived in the House from 1871 until the late 1970s, an experience documented with deep family collections. At project end, all collections on exhibit at the House will benefit from reduced light exposure. Family collections associated with use of the House will be maintained there in improved conditions. Unassociated stored collections will move to CVM general collections storage for an equal improvement. Our project is based on a 2012 assessment of collections storage at the House conducted by Elisa Redman, Midwest Arts Conservation Center. Key CVM project staff played key roles in past preservation projects benefiting 90% of the collections.

Funding supports the purchase of storage cabinets and preservation supplies for the museum's oversized and fragile photographs, prints, and documents. Included are 1,870 visual resources and archival records pertaining to agriculture and farm life, German immigration, the Native American community, and the area's largest employer, the Gillette/Uniroyal Tire and Rubber Company.

The Chippewa Valley Museum (CVM) is a regional history museum. We interpret a 9,200-square mile area in the northwestern corner of Wisconsin. CVM maintains 21,124 catalogued artifacts and documents, over 20,000 visual images, 755 cubic feet of archival materials, and three historic structures. These collections lie at the heart of a lively humanities-based public program. We request $6,000 for storage furniture and re-housing supplies to reduce overcrowding for oversized (larger than 8.5" x 14") photographs and documents. We will also purchase preservation supplies to house smaller, fragile documents that need more individualized care. Our needs are based on a recent update of our 2000 General Conservation Survey by conservator Neil Cockerline, Midwest Arts Conservation Center. The storage furniture and supplies will help us maintain the safest conditions possible now for CVM collections.

Planning public programs to highlight diversity in the population of Chippewa Valley, Wisconsin.

“Adding Chippewa Valley Voices” works to better understand and communicate the diversity of people and experiences in Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley. A variety of public programs will showcase this diversity. These programs offer students of all ages different levels of engagement depending upon their needs and interests. The project builds upon the museum’s experiences with historically under-represented groups and seeks to build a stronger, more representative museum. It also preserves critical humanities-based positions.