Getty Images announced an additional $1.8 million in funds to build on the Black Visual Arts Archives initiative.
Announced in a press release, the latest funds bring the total fund amount to approximately $4.5 million since the project began in 2022. The funds will go towards offering 20 grants across multiple libraries, museums and universities in the U.S.
These institutions include the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Morgan State University’s Beulah M. Davis Special Collections Department and the University of Maryland’s David C. Driskell Center.
The initiative’s purpose is to help digitize archival documents that honor Black history. To date, the partnership between the institutions and Getty has resulted in the digitization of works by many Black female artists. The Auburn Avenue Research Library specifically has worked on preserving works by artists such as Kathleen Joy Ballard Peters, Mary Parks Washington and Stephanie Hughley.
The Driskell Center is also working to highlight archival content created by the Where We At Black Women Artists, Inc. collective, a group that included feminist artists such as Kay Brown and Dindga McCannon.
The initiative supports the digitization of archives in multiple forms, including moving pictures, quilts, photography and sound recordings.
“These grants will help cultural institutions across the country uncover an abundance of untold stories of Black creativity and resilience,” said Getty Foundation’s senior program officer, Miguel de Baca, per the press release. “We can’t wait to see how these projects will make such inspiring collections more available to researchers and community members.”
The funds come at a time when funds for Black art and history are in danger.
Earlier this year, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and 52 of her colleagues introduced a resolution to protect Black history museums and other institutions. Introduced as part of the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, the resolution aims to formally recognize that these institutions are critical in telling American history and calls upon federal agencies to increase support for Black museums and cultural institutions.
It also calls upon residents to visit Black history museums and cultural institutions as well as speak out against efforts to erase Black history.
Amongst those who endorsed the resolution were the Association of African American Museums, American Historical Association, Museum Hue and the American Library Association.
“Without Black history, America has none—and this resolution honors and defends the museums that keep our shared history alive,” said Rep. Pressley per her statement. “As this wannabe dictator attempts to censor our history, ignore the systemic impression of marginalized people, and attack our intellectual freedoms, it is imperative that we protect the institutions that commemorate the contributions, brilliance, and hardships of our Black ancestors. We refuse to yield to their revisionist narratives and a whitewashing of structural racism.”
