Wexner Center to receive $165,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services

The Wexner Center for the Arts, the multidisciplinary contemporary art laboratory at The Ohio State University, has been awarded a three-year, $165,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency.

A prior grant to the Wex from IMLS in 2016 has already led to development of a complete archive of the hundreds of media works created with support from the center’s Film/Video Studio Program (now in process). This new grant, bestowed through IMLS’s highly competitive Museums Empowered program, will allow the center to develop an institutional archive covering all of the center’s groundbreaking programming over its nearly 30-year history. The initiative will engage virtually the entire Wex staff, as well as outside experts.

“The center’s archive initiative will allow us to lay the groundwork for eventually sharing the center’s work over its first three decades and well into the future, for the benefit of students, scholars, artists, institutional peers, professional colleagues, the general public, and fans of the contemporary arts the world over,” explains Karen Simonian, Advancement Projects Manager at the Wex.

The initiative will begin with a staff skills assessment and a review of archival material, followed by staff training in archiving and the creation of a roadmap and guidelines—the first steps toward an ultimate goal of digitally cataloguing and sharing the entirety of the center’s program history. This includes exhibition checklists, gallery guides, catalogues, and installation images to performing arts programs and still/video documentation, to film notes and film series brochures, to podcasts and video documentation of visiting artists and scholars across all creative fields. It will also capture lectures, panels, and presentations by residency artists, Wexner Prize recipients, and all manner of leading cultural figures who have appeared at the Wex. And it will encompass promotional materials for these programs as well as related press and media coverage. Coming on the heels of the launch of the new Wex website, this archive-planning project aligns with and complements content development now underway to further enhance on the new site.

Wex director Sherri Geldin notes “We are thrilled to commence this project as the center prepares to enter its fourth decade. It’s the ideal moment for reflecting on our past as well as anticipating a new chapter in the life of this ever dynamic institution. This generous support from IMLS allows us to embark on the creation of a robust archive that will make accessible the vast and rich collection of material that chronicles our history, reveals the creative process, and sheds light on the myriad ways that art intersects with the most compelling issues of our time.”

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. Its mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. Grant making, policy development, and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive.

For more information about The Institute of Museum and Library Services, visit www.imls.gov.