Motown historical museum will improve the archival repository for its collection of over 20,000 objects that document motown history

The Motown Historical Museum received a $811,696 Project Grant award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (AAHC) program. The grant will fund the museum's effort to improve the archival repository for its collection of over 20,000 objects documenting Motown history. Specifically, the museum will hire a registrar and preparator to update collections records, conduct environmental monitoring, and install archival storage units to mitigate environmental risks and improve accessibility for staff and researchers. This project aims to preserve the museum's significant collection of Motown artifacts, including corporate papers, sound recordings, costumes, and other ephemera, for scholars, musicians, and the public to access and study the legacy of Motown Records. The award period is from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.

For the project, the museum will hire a registrar and a preparator to work with staff to update collections records, conduct environmental monitoring, and supervise the installation of archival storage units. By relocating the objects into the archival storage units in a new location, the museum will mitigate environmental risks to the collection and improve the accessibility of the collection for museum staff. Beneficiaries of this project will include scholars, musicians, and public researchers of motown history.