The JSU Permanent Art Collection

Team: Brian Hunter, Brittany Myburgh

Overview

The Jackson State University Art Collection is a result of over 70 years of collecting artwork to support cultural and civic engagement amongst students and the public. The collection was founded by Lawrence Arthur Jones, the first chair of the Art Department, who began to collect artwork that would provide students with access to diverse forms of cultural expression. The collection is a valuable research and teaching resource, and is open to the public and researchers, and this project sought to catalog and digitize this collection to make it even more accessible.

Tools
CollectionBuilder, GitHub

Discover

Define

The discovery phase focused on understanding the history, scope, and impact of the JSU Art Collection, alongside technical needs for digitizing and preserving the collection.

Historical Context: Extensive research into the collection’s origins and growth highlighted its foundational role in the university’s legacy of cultural engagement. Jones’s vision emphasized the importance of art as a vehicle for civic connection, creating a collection that reflects both regional and global artistic contributions. This research was undertaken by Dr. Myburgh as part of a larger publication project.
Audience Needs: The collection serves students, faculty, researchers, and the public. Key insights revealed a need for a digital platform that is both accessible for casual viewers and robust enough to support academic research.
Technical Requirements: Working with large, climate-sensitive artworks presented unique storage and preservation challenges. CollectionBuilder and GitHub were chosen to facilitate a systematic, secure approach to digitization and online display, ensuring the collection’s accessibility while preserving its integrity.

This phase focused on setting specific project goals and identifying user expectations for the digitized collection.

Objectives: Create a comprehensive, accessible digital archive that reflects the historical and cultural depth of the JSU Art Collection.
User Personas: Key user groups include students seeking art resources, faculty incorporating the collection into curricula, art historians, and community members interested in cultural heritage.
Success Metrics: Metrics include user engagement with the digital platform, the frequency of academic citations or research requests, and visitor feedback on the usability of the digital archive.

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