Ann Wright-Parsons
by Tom Parisi
The planned renovations of the Stevens Building and Cole Hall could present an opportunity for the NIU Anthropology Museum to make improvements that will enhance conservation of artifacts in its collections.
Heritage Preservation, the National Institute for Conservation, provided a $5,000 grant to the museum earlier this year for an assessment of its conservation efforts. Heritage Preservation helps small- and mid-sized museums get the advice of professional conservators on how to best preserve and protect artifacts.
NIU’s Anthropology Museum has seen the deterioration of some of its pieces because of less-than-ideal facility conditions. The museum’s exhibition space is currently located in the Stevens Building, while collections are stored in the lower basement of Cole Hall. The collections house some 15,000 artifacts of non-western cultures from many regions of the world.
Funding from Heritage Preservation was used to hire Ruth Norton, chief conservator of the Department of Anthropology at Chicago’s Field Museum. She visited the museum for two days in late May and identified and prioritized several environmental needs. They include improved temperature, humidity and lighting controls to enhance protection of the condition of museum pieces.
Under the state’s capital bill, approved in July, the Stevens Building is scheduled for a $22 million rehabilitation in coming years, and another $8 million in funding will be used for the renovation of Cole Hall.
Anthropology Museum Director Ann Wright-Parsons is now writing federal grant proposals requesting funds to enhance the museum’s conservation efforts. The museum is in need of cabinetry for storage, modern security and specialized flooring.
“This is perfect timing for our grant requests because the state money is coming in for infrastructure on both buildings, and that funding can be used as matching dollars that are required for federal grants,” Wright-Parsons said.
Founded in 1965, the Anthropology Museum collections were created as a laboratory for students and faculty to conduct research and exhibit artifacts. The museum’s mission is to collect, preserve, research and exhibit artifacts of primarily non-western cultures.