User:Rebeccaswanson/Artist File Initiative

Established in 2015, the Artists' File Initiative (AFI) is an archival project located in the Spencer Art Reference Library at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The fundamental mission of AFI is to create archival files documenting the careers of artists in the Kansas City, Missouri region. In pursuit of this mission, the Artists' File Initiative takes an active role in collaborating with artists to create in-depth archival files by welcome input and providing deep-level cataloging. The project's goals are to help local artists preserve their legacy, as well as provide access to patrons who request information on local artists. They are an important resource used by scholars, artists, artwork owners and anyone interested in learning more about the arts community in this region.

Artist File Contents
For a file to be considered complete, it must contain an Artist's statement, a résumé, a gallery or museum exhibition announcement, published reviews, annotated exhibition checklists, annotated exhibition gallery shots, as well as any other additional supporting material.

A

 * Alfie, Marie
 * Anderson, Barry
 * Angilan, Ione

B

 * Baer, Joy
 * Bennett, Philomene
 * Benson, Lynn
 * Berman, Laura
 * Bonds, Nedra
 * Booth, Jane
 * Briendenthal, Derrick
 * Bricker-Pugh, Jennifer
 * Bussell, Joe

C

 * Clews, Rebecca
 * Cobler, Jeanine
 * Conry, Maura
 * Coonrod, Mary Ann
 * Corbin, Tom
 * Copt, Louis J.
 * Cusumano Miller, Karen

D

 * Dirks, Teresa
 * Dougherty, Aaron

E

 * Eigles, Lorrie
 * Erickson, William W

F

 * Faus, Jose
 * Flynn, Genevieve E
 * Ford, David
 * Freed, Douglass
 * Fuhrman, Andrea

G

 * Gilluly, John
 * Gordon, Shea
 * Goslin, Charles
 * Gottschall, Bret
 * Gowin, Bret
 * Grossman, Lisa
 * Guile, Rita

H

 * Harryman, Shirley
 * Henk, Diane
 * High, Anthony
 * Honig, Peregrine
 * Howard, Jean
 * Hughes, Holly
 * Hunter-Putsch, Sharon

I

 * Irwin, Nina

J

 * Jennings, Angie

K

 * Koch, Ada
 * Kren, Margo
 * Kuemmerlein, Janet

L

 * Laser, Sid
 * Leitch, Christopher
 * Lighton, Linda
 * Lyon, Mike

M

 * Madera, Edna
 * Majo
 * Marak, Lou
 * Merrill, Hugh
 * Miller Gross, Marcie

N

 * Nichols, Robyn

O

 * Ochs, John
 * Osa, Doug
 * Othic, Nora

P

 * Parker, Jennifer R
 * Pronko, Jane

R

 * Rivera, Miguel

S

 * Sajovic, Jim
 * Scapellati, Al
 * Schliefke, Michael
 * Shikles, Anita
 * Smith, Nelson
 * Steen, Karen
 * Summers, R. Gregory
 * Tanner, Jay R.
 * Thomas, Larry
 * Titterington, David
 * Toh, Heinrich
 * Toombs, Michael
 * Torres, Barnadette Esperanza
 * Trease, Fred
 * Trotter, Vickie

V

 * VanHoozer, Robin
 * Velasco, Maria
 * Vesce, Catherine

W

 * Watne, Davin
 * Weissenbach, Rashelle
 * Werts, Diana
 * Wieser, Clifford P.
 * Wheeler, Terri
 * Wyeth, Megan

Z

 * Zastoupil, Carol

Contributors
Before the beginning of this project, Marilyn Carbonell had to get approval from commercial galleries and their owners before speaking with various museum directors, trustees, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum Business Council. Todd Weiner, of Todd Weiner Gallery in Crossroads, Kansas City, has worked as an artist liaison on this project, and assists Carbonell in connecting with artists and depositing material in the artists' files. Janet Simpson, executive director of the Kansas City Artists Coalition, has played an active role in AFI by teaching artists how to archive. The files themselves are co-curated with an art librarian.

Process
The process of creating the files begins with Marilyn reaching out to museum leaders, curators, library staff, commercial galleries and artists organizations to identify prominent local artists. From there, Carbonell creates what she calls a "decision matrix," and logs each artists' accomplishments such as their completion of art school, their exhibitions and recommendations from various organizations. From there, she contacts the artists directly to create a comprehensive file of their work.

2014

 * Discussions with artists and others
 * Researched the environment
 * Seeking ideas, partners, project design
 * Tested the concept

2015

 * Official launch of the Artists' File Initiative

2016

 * Feature article in Kansas City Studio Magazine's March/April 2016 issue
 * National blog feature in the February 2016 issue of Archiving Artists, an IMLS-sponsored project by the University of North Carolina

2017

 * Hosted Edit-a thon workshop at the Spencer Art Reference Library for local African American artists working in Kansas City, Missouri.
 * Held exhibition in the Spencer Art Reference Library consisting of 4 participants in the Artist File Initiative titled Natural Inspirations: Kansas City's Artists Inspired by Nature
 * Almost 100 co-curated files established with the individual artists
 * All forms of media represented
 * Each file is fully described in Worldcat.org and the Nelson-Atkins Libraryonesearch.org - discoverable through the web and accessible for consultation in the Spencer Art Reference Library
 * The Artists File Initiative was mentioned in a KCUR 89.3 article written by Laura Spencer regarding Arthur Kraft, published online May 2, 2017.