The driskell center will increase accessibility of three of its archival collections from african american artists

The University of Maryland, College Park was awarded a $578,780 Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (AAHC) federal grant program (CFDA 45.309). The grant will fund a three-year project to increase accessibility of three archival collections from African American artists: the papers of artist Alonzo Davis, interviews and field notes of artist and scholar Michael D. Harris, and documents of artist Robin Holder. Project staff will train and work with eight paid graduate students to catalog and digitize the collections for online public access. In addition, the project will rehouse collection items in archival storage containers to improve long-term preservation. The grant was awarded on July 1, 2024 with a completion date of June 30, 2027.

The collections contain the papers of artist alonzo davis, focusing on davis' personal art career and public art commissions; interviews, field notes, and photographic prints of artist and scholar michael d. Harris, focusing on harris' study in ILE-IFE, nigeria; and the documents of artist robin holder pertaining to the artist's career in printmaking, public art, and art education in new york city. For the project, staff will train and work with eight paid graduate students from the university's library and information science program to catalog and digitize the collection for online public access. Project staff will rehouse objects in archival storage containers to improve long-term preservation of the collection.