The curatorship in Asian art at the Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) has been endowed with a gift from Joan L. Danforth and a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
In November 2012, the AMAM received a $500,000 challenge grant from the NEH for the curator position. The grant was matched three-to-one with a $1.5 million gift from Joan L. Danforth, a former Oberlin College trustee (1988-94) and a member of the museum’s visiting committee. The title for the person in the position will be the Joan L. Danforth Curator of Asian Art.
The endowment will secure the necessary infrastructure at the museum that is essential to collections development and curricular outreach, further expanding the use of the AMAM’s holdings by faculty and students throughout the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music.
The curator will strengthen and expand teaching and research with the Asian collections across a broad range of humanities disciplines in the college and conservatory. The curator will spearhead acquisitions for the college, ensure that the collection is researched and properly cared for, teach, and collaborate with faculty and students to organize exhibitions and museum-based courses.
Founded in 1917, the AMAM houses an encyclopedic collection of more than 14,000 objects selected to provide a comprehensive overview of the history of art from virtually every culture. It is recognized as one of the five best academic museums in the country, and is open free to all.
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