Protecting public art collections [the midwest art conservation center will support emergency preparedness in public art collections through the development of tools for remote risk assessment and…

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded a $212,979 Project Grant under the Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access program (CFDA 45.149) to the Midwest Art Conservation Center, Inc. (MACC), a non-profit organization. This 2-year grant, awarded on March 1, 2024, will support the development of tools for remote risk assessment and emergency planning to improve the sustainability and resilience of public art collections nationwide.

Specifically, the grant will enable MACC to apply a risk assessment protocol to the collections of five diverse partner organizations, and then develop a free toolkit and provide training for public art caretakers to independently perform similar remote risk assessments and emergency planning for their collections. This project builds upon MACC's previous NEH planning grant and leverages existing GIS mapping technology to address a critical need in emergency preparedness for cultural heritage.

Protecting public art collections [the midwest art conservation center will support emergency preparedness in public art collections through the development of tools for remote risk assessment and emergency planning. This is a tier 2 implementation application and follows the successful completion of a tier 1 planning grant awarded by the NEH in 2021. This phase will apply a risk assessment protocol developed in phase 1 to artworks in the collections of five diverse partner organizations. IT will develop a free toolkit for public art collections nationwide and provide training for a wider group of public art caretakers to independently perform similar remote risk assessments and develop emergency plans for their collections. This project will use existing and accessible GIS mapping technology to fill a void in emergency planning for cultural heritage; IT will create a resource that can be adapted and used freely by public art collections nationwide, ultimately improving their sustainability and resilience.]