Tougaloo College is making strides to preserve Mississippi's first modern art collection and its ethnographic collection, while training students about the business of curatorial practice and art collections stewardship. The recently announced $200,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will allow the College to continue to foster art collections care, preservation and interpretation while providing opportunities for students to engage in learning experiences utilizing the College's valued cultural asset.
"I'm thrilled that our partners at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation are supporting our work towards collections care and student mentorship. As we continue to meet our preservation goals for the art collections, students will learn valuable techniques in collections conservation, art storage, exhibition design, and arts administration," said Turry Flucker, director of the Tougaloo College Art Collections. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation seeks to nurture and sustain the arts through scholarship and creative accomplishment. To meet the goal of the foundation, grants like the one obtained by Tougaloo College, are awarded.
"The Tougaloo College Art Collections were formally established in 1963, by the New York Art Committee for Tougaloo College and former art professor and art collections director Ronald O. Schnell to serve as teaching collections for students at the College. The generous support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation ensures that the collection is preserved for students, alumni and friends of the College for generations to come," Flucker said.
