Schomburg-Reading-Room-03072023_093226
 

CLIENT DESCRIPTION 

The Art and Artifacts Division collects, documents, preserves, and interprets art and artifacts by and about peoples of African heritage throughout the world. United States and Africa.
 
Tammi Lawson, Curator of the Arts and Artifacts Division is collaborating with newly appointed Digital Curator, Kimberly Henderson in exploring ways to make the collection more accessible to the community it serves.
 
 
CURRENT STATUS
While The Schomburg Center's art and artifacts collections are being cataloged in The New York Public Library's online public access catalog,  the platform does not currently accommodate the digital preservation of three-dimensional objects of which the Arts and Artifacts Collection is primarily composed.
 
Accessibility & Current Restrictions Visiting the Collection
  • Research is by appointment only. 
  • Virtual consultations need to be scheduled and supported by a staff member.
  • Registration of a Special Collections Account is required for consultation of materials in the Art and Artifacts Division. This step is a barrier to entry for initial exploration.
  • There are no guided tours at this time. The Schomburg desires alternative ways to restore this key service to visitors in spring 2023.

OUR BACKGROUND

MASK Consortium is a coalition of museums and educational institutions sharing knowledge. Its mission is to synthesize a more complete understanding of history, culture, and humanity, through the preservation, digitization and virtualization of art and historical artifacts.
We facilitate and stimulate fluid, dynamic, and relevant learning through multidisciplinary inquiry, dialogue, critical thinking and collaborative processes. Additionally: 
  • We are Black & Women owned, run, and staffed. 
  • We maintain technically superior tools, workflows & deliver an exceptional product. 
  • Our extensive relationship network provides access to exclusive talent. 
  • We provide NexUS art & technology skills training for underserved communities. 

CURRENT OPPORTUNITY

VIRTUAL READING ROOM: $25k estimate
Lawson and Henderson understand the challenges in developing organizational support for progressive ideas.  They seek to produce a functional demonstration of digital preservation capabilities and benefits by curating a focused scope of artworks (15 objects), and presenting them staged in the Schomburg’s Reading Room. This immersive learning & research module will:
  • Educate the community about the objects
  • Increase accessibility, allowing more visitors to explore the collection 
  • Engage different modalities of learners, targeting youth and their comfort with Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies accessible through mobile devices 
  • Provide data on utilization to compare with physical visit
  • Provide a financial baseline to empower strategic budgeting of digital curation 

MASK visited the Schomburg on 2/13/23 demonstrating some possibilities: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=2hkHP9HWQd9
 
Reading Room Virtual Tour Capture & Authoring: $10,000
  • The Arts & Artifacts reading room is roughly 500 square feet
  • About 15 - 20 scans required

3D Digital Object Preservation: $15,000
  • 3D Scanning
  • 3D Post Production
  • Publishing to web accessible formats
  • 15 objects of small to extra large dimension and varying materials

 
 

 


APPENDIX A 

Case Study – The Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison 

In 2020, a bronze statue called the “Emancipation Group” by Thomas Ball draws national attention and headlines amidst the confederate statue reckoning that wracks America after the murder of George Floyd. The Boston Art Commission votes to remove the work from public view amongst criticism and fears of it being toppled. It does so swiftly, with little fanfare, and with no clear plan for future exhibitions. The Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison realizes that it also has a white Italian marble version of the “Emancipation Group” and seriously considers removing the work from public view. 


The university engages MASK to assist with the evaluation and deep study of the object. Below are some of the accomplishments from the multi-year collaboration: 
  • Cross-disciplinary collaboration at the university 
  • Practical application of engineering to art and social justice (STEAM) 
  • Art & artifact representation adjustments in the art museum database based on research 
    Curricular change 
  • Observed increase in the cultural sensitivity of museum security detail 
  • Fostered artistic and academic exchange between local communities of color and the university 
  • A hybrid exhibition, part pedagogical, part contemporary comprised of artworks, and responses from the impacted community fosters dialogue and healing 
  • Other universities with editions of the controversial object in their possession have expressed interest in receiving the touring exhibition and developing responses unique to their community 
  • Comprehensive curriculum is being developed with support from the Mellon foundation, and advisory guidance from the MonumentLabs projects 

PRESS