Art framed by archives : building a special collections archive at The Grace Museum.

Abstract

Although archives and museums may be viewed as institutions that have little to do with each other, both entities acquire and preserve objects of cultural importance and make them accessible to the public. This project focused on the intersection between museum and archival theory and practice through the exercise of setting up a special collections archive at The Grace Museum in Abilene, Texas. The two main goals of the project were to arrange, rehouse, and describe the Clint Hamilton Papers and to draft a processing manual for future special collections archival work. A one-page summary of the project was prepared for the board of The Grace Museum and several presentations were given to staff, board members, and potential researchers from the community. The successes of this project included seeing the recently processed archival materials used in an exhibition, increasing awareness in the community of the value of archival materials, and providing recommendations for future use and development of the archival collection.