Clark Atlanta Receives $140,000 Getty Foundation Grant To Preserve Black Visual Arts Archives

Written By Lexx Thornton

Clark Atlanta University (CAU) is proud to announce its inclusion in the Getty Foundation’s prestigious Black Visual Arts Archives program. The university has been awarded $140,000 as part of Getty’s $2.6 million investment to support libraries, museums, and universities across the United States in preserving and increasing access to archival collections documenting the work of Black artists. 

The grant will enable Clark Atlanta University to establish an official institutional archive for its museum, with a focus on assessing and inventorying significant records related to the Museum’s history, exhibitions, and artist and object files, which are currently stored in non-archival filing cabinets. 

“This grant represents a transformative opportunity for Clark Atlanta University to properly preserve our rich artistic heritage and make these invaluable resources accessible to scholars, students, and the community for generations to come,” said Danille Taylor, Ph.D., executive director of the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum. “We are honored to be among the select institutions chosen for this important initiative.” 

CAU Art Museum History 

The CAU Museum’s core collections were built through the venerated Atlanta Art Annuals, which played a significant role in showcasing and supporting major African American artists who were often excluded from mainstream art institutions, such as Henry O. Tanner, Elizabeth Catlett, and Charles White. 

Clark Atlanta University joins six other institutions receiving funding in this grant cycle, including Amistad Research Center in New Orleans, California State University Los Angeles, Emory University in Atlanta, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum in Washington D.C., and Visual AIDS in New York City. 

“We need a fuller understanding of the influence of Black artists, architects, and cultural institutions to tell a more complete history of American art and culture, and we can work towards achieving this by investing in Black archives,” said Miguel de Baca, senior program officer at the Getty Foundation. “Black Visual Arts Archives delivers critical support to make these archives and the stories of creativity, resiliency, and community they hold more accessible to researchers and the general public.”

The Black Visual Arts Archives program is designed to increase access to archival collections across the country that hold vital information about work created by Black artists. A major goal of the program is to increase visibility of archives to the public through exhibitions, community programming, and digital projects.