Survey: Abington Art Center

Posted August 05, 2010 by Anonymous

Organization:

Abington Art Center

Part 1.

Year Founded:

Before 1950

1c. Organization's annual budget.:

$750,001 - $1,000,000

1b. Primary activity[ies] of the organization.:

Multipurpose Space [Amalgam of Multiple Artistic Disciplines]

Part 2.

2a. Mission Statement:

A member-supported nonprofit organization inspiring and stregthening community through arts and culture. From professionals to aspiring artists; from pre-school students to lifelong learners-–the Center gives everyone in the community an opportunity to appreciate and participate in the arts at whatever level they choose.

Website Link to Mission Statement:

http://www.abingtonartcenter.org/about.html

2b. Organization History / Organizational Overview. Index of important events in organization's history.:

Abington Art Center originated as the Old York Road Art Guild. The Guild was founded in 1939 by a group of visionary women who believed in the "benefit of cultural enrichment for individual and community life to be derived from creative artistic expression." In 1965, the Guild’s educational programs were incorporated as a separate non-profit under the name "Abington Art Center." Several years later, on Christmas Day 1969, respected rare book and print collector, Lessing J. Rosenwald and his wife Edith, donated their elegant estate, Alverthorpe Manor to the Township of Abington as a cultural and recreational gathering place for the community. Guild members had supported acceptance of the gift which offered the opportunity to expand their program of studio art instruction and exhibitions at the Manor. Soon after moving to Alverthorpe Manor, the organization made the transition to a professionally managed institution with its first paid director and the Guild was disbanded. In 1981, when the Rosenwald Collection was moved to the Library of Congress and National Gallery in Washington, D. C., the Art Center was able to expand into the former gallery wing of the Manor, doubling its instruction space and enrollment. Since then, the Art Center has continued to grow, establishing a nationally recognized Sculpture Garden in 1990, strengthening its exhibition programs and resources, and enlarging its community outreach efforts. In 1996, the Art Center acquired more space within the building and began a major multi-phase renovation project designed to complete the transformation of Alverthorpe Manor from a private residence into a cultural "campus" for the entire community.

Website Link to Organization's History / Organization Overview:

http://www.abingtonartcenter.org/about.html

2c. Exhibition / Programming / Publishing History.:

Over the years, AAC has become a recognized venue for contemporary art, both regionally and nationally. The Sculpture Park and Gallery provide professional opportunities for emerging and established artists. Related educational programs such as art lectures, slide presentations and workshops provide meaningful context to aid understanding, stimulate dialogue and foster an appreciation of contemporary art. The Sculpture Park, one of only a few sites of its kind in the state, has been recognized on the national level with public project grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Andy Warhol Foundation, and the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation.

Website Link to Exhibition / Programming / Publishing History:

http://www.abingtonartcenter.org/gal-garden.html

Part 3.

3a. Names and email addresses of Founders, Board Members, Directors or other key individuals::

Laura Burnham lburnham@abingtonartcenter.org

Additional Names and email addresses of Founders, Board Members, Directors or other key individuals:

Amy Lipton amylipton@abingtonartcenter.org

3b. Could any of these individuals assist in providing an oral history of your organization?:

Yes

Part 4.

4a. Is organization currently active?:

Yes

4b. Year activity suspended if no longer active.:

Organization Still Active

Part 5.

5a. Type of organization at its founding.:

Collective / Unincorporated Association

5b. Type of organization currently, or at the termination of activities.:

Non-Profit [IRS certified]

Part 6.

6a. Does the organization have an archive?:

Yes

6b. Are there any short or long-term threats to the organization?:

None / Not Applicable

6c. Other threats to the organization::

Are there other threats to your organization? Please describe below.

Part 7.

survey_field_130:

and Drain on Existing Staff Time and Fiscal Need

7a. How important is to the organization to preserve the organization’s historical material. From 1 – Very Important to 5 – Not Important.:

7b. Has planning for the preservation and documentation of archive begun?:

7c. Does the organization know how and where to seek expertise and assistance?:

7d. Does the organization have specific concerns regarding starting an archive working with its historic materials?:

Space Concerns

Part 8.

8a. Is the organization's archives in the collection of another institution or promised to one?:

8a. Location:

IF YES to 8: University (Name)

8b. Archival materials are also located at::

Unknown

Where are these locations?:

Where are these locations? [I.E. Home / Office of Private Individual(s) (i.e. Former Board, Staff, Funders, etc)]

Part 9.

9. Does the organization maintain archives for any other organization.:

survey_field_49:

IF YES to 9: 10a. Please describe:

Part 10a.

10a. Is the archive accessible to scholars, curators or researchers?:

Yes

Part 10b.

10b. Are there conditions of access for scholars, curators or researchers?:

Yes

Part 10c.

10c. How are arrangements made for access to archive?:

Arrangements can be made over the phone and the conference room can be made available for someone to see the archive. They may not take materials out of that area and they can only make limited photocopies. We are not set up to handle many requests.

Part 11.

The following questions address the historical materials (type, quantity and storage) of the organization. 11a. Paper Files and Documents:

Artist Files

Correspondence

Board Minutes

Exhibition or Production Files

Financial Records

Legal Documents

By-laws / Incorporation Documents

Other Paper Files

11b. Artwork and Documentation:

CDs / DVDs [Pre-Recorded or CD-R / CD-RW / DVD-R / etc.]

Slides

Photographs

Videotapes

Other::

Other Artwork

11c. Press and Promotional Materials:

Announcements, Mailing Cards, etc.

Newspaper / Magazine / Media Clippings

Posters / Flyers

Other::

Other Press or Promotional Materials:

11d. Printed Publications:

Artists' Publications

Brochures

Broadsides / Small Press

Checklists / Performance Programs / Price Lists

Other::

Other Printed Publications

11e. Other:

Architectural Drawings / Floor Plan

Layouts / Sketches / Instructions for Installations

Mock-Ups / Models / Prototypes

Other::

Other

Part 12.

12. What years does the materials cover?:

1950-1959

1960-1969

1970-1979

1980-1989

1990-1999

2000-2005

Part 13.

13a. How is the material stored?:

Banker Boxes

File Cabinets

Flat Files

Three-Ring Binders

13b. Are some or all of these storage units “archival”?:

None

Part 14.

14a. Estimated Number of Boxes or Milk-Crate Sized Storage Units:

11 - 20

14b. Estimated Number of Archive Drawers:

1 - 10

14c. Estimated Number of Archive Notebooks:

21 - 30

14d. Estimated the total Linear Feet. ["Linear Feet" is standard measure of the quantity of archival materials on the basis of shelf space occupied or the length of drawers in vertical files or the thickness of horizontally filed materials. For example, a:

31 - 40

Part 15.

15. Is the historical materials - or archives - inventoried or catalogued in any way, either formally or otherwise?:

Part 16.

16a. Is there a key, index or finding aid to the materials inventoried?:

16b. Paper-based::

Not Applicable

16c. Electronic Based::

Not Applicable

Part 16 / Electronic Files & Archival Management

16f. Does the organization have a back-up program, or back-up schedule, for its electronic records and perform monitoring of its removable media (i.e. floppies, ZIP disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, portable hard drives, etc.)?:

Yes

16g. Who is responsible for working with the archival material?:

General Staff

Interns

Part 17.

17. How are new materials processed?:

Manual System (Card File, File Folders)

Part 18.

18. What, if any, conservation methods are in place for both physical materials and electronic data?:

Controlled Access

Fireproof Building / Fireproof Room

None or Limited

Part 19.

19. What type of climate-controls are present in the area[s] in which the archives are stored?:

Some heating / air conditioning / humidity controls on demand or sporadically

Part 20.

20a. What are the goals for the historical materials for the next year?:

continue archiving

20b. What are the biggest challenges to reaching these short-term goals?:

staff time

20c. What goals are in place for the historical materials for the next three to five years?:

continue archiving

20d. What are the biggest challenges to reaching these long term goals?:

staff time

20e. Are there any additional goals for the organizations historic materials?:

Part 21.

21. Estimated cost to achieve these archival goals for the next year.:

$1,000

Part 22.

22. Estimated cost to achieve these archival goals for the next five years.:

$1,001 - $2,000

Part 23.

23d. Other - Please describe below.:

motivation to archive when the short-term purpose is difficult to see

Part 24.

24. What archival issues could / should visual arts organizations address collectively in the next three to five years? Ranked from 1 (highest priority) to 5 (lowest priority).24a. Shared standards / protocols for digitization:

Promote professional standards / protocols for digitization

24d. Other - Please describe below.:

funding source to support and encourage the investment in archiving for the future

Part 25.

25a. Is the organization a member of, or in contact with, any organizations concerned with archival issues?:

Yes

25b. Who?:

Old York Road Historical Society

Part 26.

26. Additional information, comments, observations, and questions.:

The number of times a scholar want to see our archive and the number of times we access the information ourselves is very small. This makes the investment in archiving a difficult one for our staff and other limited resources. I could imaging that if we had digital / online archives the number of people accessing the info would skyrocket!

Finish

survey_field_150:

Abington Art Center

Who executed this survey.:

Heather Rutledge, Assistant Director

Is this survey complete and all appropriate questions answered?:

Yes