Save the Date: VRA 2023
The Visual Resources Association (VRA) invites you to
Save the Date for
VRA's 2023 Annual Conference
September 26-28, 2023
San Antonio, Texas
Be on the lookout for a call for proposals!
Questions? Contact initiatives@vraweb.org.
VRA Fall 2022 Workshop Season
The Visual Resources Association (VRA) is pleased to announce its 2022 Workshop Season! Workshops will cover a variety of topics relevant to those working with images in cultural heritage institutions and other fields. All workshops will be held virtually on Zoom in two parts. The fee for each workshop is $50.
Now open for registration!
Learning to Look and Looking to Learn: A Workshop on Visual Literacy (ZOOM)Fridays, September 23rd and 30th5:30 to 7:30pm ESTInstructors Jessica Sack and Rachel Thompson are a powerhouse duo from Yale and the Guggenheim, respectively. They're coming together again to teach attendees the ins and outs of Visual Literacy, which continues to grow as a relevant skill in today's world.Please register by Friday, September 16thCan We Do That?: Intellectual Property Rights and Visual Media (ZOOM)Fridays, October 14th and 21st11:30am to 2:00pm ESTThis workshop, taught by Cara Hirsh has sold out in past years and is coming back for an encore. Attendees will learn the basics of IPR concepts and work through real-life scenarios to gain a better understanding of how to handle these concerns.Please register by Friday, October 7th
Save the dates for these upcoming workshops! Registration will open soon!
- Something Mappy This Way Comes: An Introduction to Digital Mapping Technologies (ZOOM) Tuesday, November 1st and Wednesday, November 2nd, 5:30pm-7:30pm EST. Instructor: Justin Madron
- Collaborating Across the Institution and Beyond: Creating Professional Partnerships to Support Cultural Heritage (ZOOM) Fridays, December 2nd and 9th, 11:30am-2:00pm EST. Instructor: Maureen Burns
We'd like to thank the Samuel H. Kress Foundation for their continued support of the VRA Regional Workshop Program.If you have any questions, please send an email to the Regional Workshop Implementation Team at vraf.rwit@gmail.com.Beth Haas, Workshop CoordinatorJanice Shapiro Hussain, Senior Workshop LiaisonMichelle Schierburg, Junior Workshop Liaison
Announcing the 2022-2023 VRA Internship Award Recipient
The Visual Resources Association (VRA) is pleased to announce the 2022-2023 VRA Internship Award in visual resources and image management. This award was generously funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.Sagan Thacker of Asheville, North Carolina, is the recipient of the 10th Internship Award. They will receive $3,000 to work a minimum of 200 hours at the Black Mountain College Museum. Through their internship, Sagan will help launch the museum’s first online portal, which will make its holdings viewable to the general public. In the course of their work, Sagan will describe artworks and other objects held by the museum, digitize objects, and update public-facing records.The Association is pleased to support the education and practical training of emerging professionals through this internship award. The Internship Award Committee (Linda Callahan, Bonnie Rosenberg, Robb Detlefs, and Andrew Weymouth, our previous awardee) appreciates the careful thought that went into every proposal. We are grateful to the Kress Foundation for its assistance and for recognizing the potential of this award to foster the next generation of visual resource professionals.
Register Now! VRA Regional Workshop on Visual Literacy
The Visual Resources Association (VRA) is pleased to announce registration is now live for Learning to Look and Looking to Learn: A Workshop on Visual Literacy with instructors Jessica Sack of the Yale University Art Gallery and Rachel Thompson of the Guggenheim Museum. This two-part online workshop will be held via Zoom on Fridays, September 23rd and 30th, from 5:30 pm–7:30 pm EDT.REGISTRATIONTo register, please visit the workshop webpage. The workshop fee is $50. If you have questions about registration or general questions about the workshop, email the Regional Workshop Implementation Team at vraf.rwit@gmail.com. Please register by Monday, September 19, 2022.The Regional Workshop Implementation Team is grateful to The Samuel H. Kress Foundation for their continued support of this exciting opportunity to partner with cultural heritage and educational institutions. You can read about all the workshops planned for 2022 on our website: https://vraweb.org/opportunities/regional-workshops/WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONAs we now work in hybrid settings—in person and online—there is an increasing challenge to develop visual literacy skills of both educators and students, uniquely positioning those who work with visual media to provide necessary visual literacy training and instruction.This two-part workshop will provide participants with the tools to develop and implement visual literacy instruction within their professional practice both in person and using online platforms such as Zoom. Part one of this workshop will focus on visual literacy skills and pedagogical approaches by using Zoom to engage with objects from museums, libraries, and archives. Part two will focus on ways for participants to apply these pedagogies to their own work and institutions.Participants will discuss and develop ways to implement and evaluate their own visual literacy programs as well as how digital archives, art objects, and other primary sources can be used by staff, students, and faculty. The question of what it means to teach from collections within a range of professional perspectives–including from information, museum, and education contexts—will also be addressed.ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORSJessica Sack is the Jan and Frederick Mayer Curator of Public Education at the Yale University Art Gallery. Jessica has worked in the field of museum education for more than twenty years. In that time she has been developing professional development programs in Visual Literacy for a variety of audiences including librarian, teacher, and faculty workshops, and training graduate students as museum educators. In addition, Jessica works with area teachers and faculty, helping them find ways to teach from objects and hone their own observation skills. Prior to Yale, Jessica was the Senior Museum Educator and Coordinator of Teacher Services at the Brooklyn Museum. She has contributed to journals and publications including Art Education and The International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education, The Caring Museum: New Models of Engagement with the Ageing, Interpreting the Art Museum, “Looking to Learn, Learning to Teach” in the Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin and Picturing a Nation: Teaching with American Art and Material Culture. Jessica received her M.Phil. in Ethnology and Museum Ethnography from Oxford University, England, and a M.A. in Performance Studies from New York University.Rachel Thompson is the Associate Manager of School and Teacher Programs at the Guggenheim Museum. In this role, she plans, implements, and evaluates museum-based programs for teachers; provides support for Learning Through Art, a longstanding artist residency program in NYC public schools; and serves as a mentor for teens in the GuggTeens Collaborative program. Rachel began her career in education at Southwest High School in San Antonio, Texas, where she taught English and Latin. Prior to joining the Guggenheim, she was the John Walsh Fellow in Museum Education at the Yale University Art Gallery, where she facilitated museum programs for a range of audiences, including young children, university students and faculty, and K-12 educators. Rachel has co-authored publications on topics in museum practice in Art Education and The International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School.
VRA Core 4.0 Chinese Translations Now Available!
The Visual Resources Association (VRA) is pleased to announce that Chinese translations of VRA Core 4.0 are now available on the Library of Congress VRA Core page. The VRA Core is a data standard for the description of works of visual culture as well as the images that document them.Members of the VRA’s Cataloging and Metadata Standards Committee (CaMS) led and assisted on the project along with a group of five library professionals from American institutions. This team began the project to translate the VRA Core 4.0 Element Description into traditional and simplified Chinese in January 2021. The translation project went through multiple revisions before bilingual scholars and practitioners in the U.S., Taiwan, and P.R. China with years of experience with cultural heritage metadata were invited to review the drafts. In response to reviewers’ suggestions on the translation and formatting, the group carried through more rounds of modification and presented drafts for public comment in June 2022. The final translations now available on the VRA Core website incorporate feedback received during these multiple rounds of revision. The VRA Board and the Chair of the CaMS, Leah Constantine, would like to congratulate the following participants and thank them for their dedicated work on this project!Project Lead: Xiaoli Ma, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of FloridaDTP: K. Sarah Ostrach, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityTranslators: Ching-jung Chen, The City College of the City University of New York Libraries; Sai Deng, University of Central Florida Libraries; Xiaoli Ma, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida; Jane Pen, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida;Reviewers: Sophy Shu-Jiun Chen, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan; Charlene Chou, New York University Library; Fan Wei, Sichuan University, P. R. China; Carol Ng-He, Center for the Art of East Asia, The University of Chicago; Shu-Wen Lin, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Marcia Lei Zeng, School of Information, Kent State University
Call for Applications: Fall 2022 VRA Professional Development Grant
DEADLINE: September 30, 2022The Visual Resources Association (VRA) is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for the VRA Professional Development Grant program. This program offers two $1000 grants yearly (which may be divided amongst one or more grantees). This grant can be used to support conference participation, enroll in a workshop, for an online education opportunity, or for research activities.VRA membership is not required to apply. Applicants should have a professional interest in visual resources and cultural heritage information management and may include retirees, the currently unemployed, and students seeking educational and training opportunities in support of broad access to cultural information.For consideration, please submit your application by Friday, September 30th, 2022 at 11:59PM Pacific Time at https://forms.gle/V6XYRRGUKk8dYc2G8. If you have any questions about the VRA Professional Development Grant or the application process, please contact the VRA Grants Officer at grants@vraweb.org. The recipient(s) of the Fall 2022 VRA Professional Development grant will be announced by Friday, October 7, 2022, and funds must be used before October 7, 2023.
VRA Bulletin Call for Papers
The Visual Resources Association Bulletin (VRAB), a fully open access journal published by the Visual Resources Association, is accepting submission of news, editorials, perspectives, reviews, interviews, and lesson plans, as well as double-blind peer reviewed research articles.Our content covers all aspects of the life cycle of visual assets, from conceptualization to use, and the workflows, technologies, standards, and best practices relevant for each phase. This may include project planning, acquisition, digitization, metadata and cataloging, database management, collection development, curation, instruction, outreach, preservation, digital scholarship, visual literacy, and intellectual property.Of particular importance is highlighting and addressing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility needs and concerns within each life cycle phase.We welcome submissions from professionals, including those in their early career or still in graduate school, that work with visual resources in a variety of contexts including educational, corporate, and nonprofit institutions. You do not need to be a VRA member to submit.We accept submissions on a rolling/on-going basis and will publish them in the next available issue after acceptance. See our Information for Authors for more information on the submission and publication process.Please contact the VRAB content editor, Sara Schumacher, with any inquiries.
August EAC Community Hour: Vocational Awe in GLAMs
We hope you will join the EAC on Wednesday, August 17th 3:00-4:00pm EDT / 12:00-1:00pm PDT for our August Community Hour: Vocational Awe in GLAMs (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums). Independent scholar and consultant Fobazi Ettarh defines ‘Vocational Awe’ as “the idea that libraries as institutions are inherently good. It assumes that some or all core aspects of the profession are beyond critique, and it, in turn, underpins many librarians’ sense of identity and emotional investment in the profession.” Although the term originated in the library world, we plan to discuss how it can cover many areas of the GLAM work world.If your schedule allows, we strongly encourage attendees to review the resources listed in the Community Hour doc in advance of attending the Hour as we will be discussing these materials. If not, please join us anyway!As always, we do not record the community hours to encourage free and open discussion.Do you have a specific question or topic to discuss? Add it to the discussion prompt section in the Community Hour doc.Click here to register for EAC's Community Hour! Have an idea for a future Community Hour? Share your idea with this form!Best,Lael and LesleyEAC Co-Chairs
VREPS Cover Letter and Resume Review coming August 12
Are you a student or new professional looking for someone to review your cover letter and resume?
Sign up for a one-on-one cover letter and resume review session with VREPS!
One-on-one interview practice sessions are your opportunity to work with a VRA professional to polish your self-presentation. We'll help you work on your cover letter and resume, as well as provide constructive feedback for you to put together a strong job application.
Not an emerging professional, but want to get involved?
We're looking for more experienced professionals to act as reviewers! Please free to sign up on the spreadsheet if you're interested in acting as an interviewer for our sessions--aka your chance to be a shining lighthouse that helps steer our new professionals and students into the safe harbors of employment!Our next practice sessions will take place on Friday, August 12th, from 1-4pm EST/10am-1pm PST.SIGN-UP HEREBest,Karissa Hurzeler and Allie Scholten, VREPS Co-Chairs
There's still time! Apply now for the VRA Internship Award
There’s still time! To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the VRA Internship Award, we are extending this year’s application deadline to August 19, 2022.Generously funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the VRA Internship Award provides financial support for graduate students and recent graduates preparing for a career in visual resources and image management. The award grants $3,000 to support a period of internship in archives, libraries, museums, visual resources collections in academic institutions, or other appropriate contexts. It also provides $1,000 for professional development, and a one-year complimentary student membership in the Visual Resources Association.Candidates should apply after developing a project with a specific collection and prospective supervisor. Priority will be given to applicants who submit projects that support art historical or related visual cultural heritage research and scholarship. The VRA Internship Award Committee favors opportunities in which the intern may integrate skills acquired during the course of his or her academic training to manage a project from beginning to end, with the host institution receiving needed help in making valuable but hidden cultural collections visible. Projects that would not occur without funding for an intern may be given special consideration. A complete description of the internship and application instructions are available at: https://vraweb.org/opportunities/awards/internship-award/.Applications are due on August 19, 2022. The award recipient for 2022-2023 will be announced on September 5, 2022.
Mid-Atlantic Chapter Meeting August 12th
The Center for Virtual/Material Studies (formerly the Visual Resources Centre) in the Department of Art History at Penn State is exited to host an in-person VRA Mid-Atlantic Chapter meeting. The meeting will be on August 12th from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The day will include an introduction to the Center's “new” space, business meeting, visit to the Matson Museum of Anthropology, and a visit to the School of Theatre Fashion Archive (VRA Project Grant), finishing the day with Creamery ice cream. The full agenda for the day can be found here and the RSVP is here.All are welcome even if you are not a member of the Chapter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.Catherine Adams, Mid-Atlantic Chapter ChairCarolyn Lucarelli
SEI Is Recruiting a New Implementation Team!
The Summer Educational Institute for Digital Stewardship of Visual Information (SEI) is actively recruiting applicants for several positions on the SEI Implementation Team, details of which are at the end of this post: (1) Incoming Co-Chair, (2) Curriculum Specialists and Faculty Liaisons, (1) Web Manager and Publicity Specialist. It is a great opportunity for resume building and networking. SEI offers all positions a stipend for their time.
SEI is a joint project of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and the Visual Resources Association (VRA). SEI is an intensive three and a half-day workshop that features curriculum taught by expert instructors who present an overview of the digital life cycle in a broad range of topics.
SEI 2023 will be held virtually. SEI plans to remain a virtual workshop going forward, so you can expect that you commitment to SEI 2024 will also be for a virtual workshop.
To apply, please email your resume and a brief statement of interest to SEI Co-Chair Jasmine Burns (jburns@cornell.edu) by August 1, 2021. We expect to onboard the new Implementation Team members in October with biweekly team meetings. The Team typically has a break from biweekly meetings before and during the annual conferences of ARLIS/NA and VRA; it is possible to be an SEI IT member and present in the annual conference as a speaker and/or attendee. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the roles, I would be happy to discuss over email, phone, or Zoom.
Best,
Jasmine Burns, SEI 2023 Senior Co-Chair
SEI Curriculum Specialists and Faculty Liaisons ($750 Stipend, recruiting 2 positions: 1 from ARLIS/NA and 1 from VRA)
The two SEI Curriculum Specialists work closely together to analyze the results and participant feedback from the previous year’s SEI and to weigh emerging trends in the image management field in order to make curricular recommendations for the upcoming SEI. They serve as the primary contact with all SEI faculty prior to and during the Summer Educational Institute. The Faculty Liaisons are also responsible for facilitating faculty contact with students prior to SEI, and for collecting any curriculum-related materials. Areas of particular emphasis include recruiting and inviting SEI faculty; working closely with the SEI Curriculum Development specialists and SEI faculty to develop their specific modules and instructional materials; and maintaining all logistical information related to faculty, including arrival and departure information. They are responsible for creating descriptions of the proposed curriculum and bringing them to the SEI IT for discussion and consultation, along with suggestions for appropriate classroom spaces and technologies, potential teaching methodologies, and possible instructors. Once the SEI curriculum is established and instructors secured, the SEI Curriculum Specialists work on an as-needed basis with the SEI Faculty Liaison to make sure that curricular goals are communicated to faculty and faculty questions are properly answered. They are responsible for being “on the ground” during the virtual SEI workshop. And at the conclusion of SEI, the Curriculum Specialists and Faculty Liaisons are responsible for archiving copies of previous year's final documents in Basecamp in collaboration with the Incoming Co-Chair. This is a 1-year commitment, renewable for up to 3 years. This position is busiest in November/December and again in May, and can expect to work up to an additional 4 hours a month outside of the biweekly meetings during the busy times.
Junior Co-Chair and Student Liaison ($1000 Stipend; must be an active ARLIS member)
The Junior Co-Chair and Student Liaison is the first year-long position of a two year SEI Commitment, and serves as the primary contact with all SEI attendees prior to and during the Summer Educational Institute, updating them as needed on matters regarding curriculum, virtual meeting arrangements, and fielding all questions related to attendance at SEI once registered. The Student Liaison also serves as the Junior Co-Chair of SEI and works closely with the SEI Senior Co-Chair and the Curriculum Specialists and Faculty Liaisons on the implementation of all aspects of SEI. The SEI Student Liaison is expected to be “on the ground” for the virtual SEI workshop. The Incoming Co-Chair is responsible for archiving copies of the previous year’s final documents in Basecamp in collaboration with the Senior Co-Chair. This position is busiest in February and May and can expect to work up to an additional 4 hours a month outside of the biweekly meetings during the busy times.
Web Manager and Publicity Specialist ($750 Stipend; must be an active member of ARLIS or VRA)
The SEI Web Manager/Publicity Specialist works with the SEI Co-Chairs and other SEI positions to maintain the overall brand and management of the SEI website and social media profiles, including uploading and editing graphics and pictures; coordinating graphic design; developing and managing the registration and payment pages and processes, etc. In addition, the role will develop a publicity campaign for SEI and collaborate on internal communication with registered SEI students. The publicity position is responsible for creating an SEI publicity calendar; collaborating with the SEI Co-Chairs to write announcements; distributing those announcements to multiple organizational and institutional listservs; developing SEI’s social media outreach presence; and managing how SEI provides information to its students, including managing the Student Portal and assisting with Zoom platform and recordings management. This is a 1-year commitment, renewable for up to 3 years. This position has deadlines in November/December, in March, and again in May. (While this position is welcome to attend SEI sessions for free, they are not expected to be “on the ground” and helping facilitating sessions during the virtual SEI workshop.)
July EAC Community Hour
Greetings all,We are living through tumultuous times, to say the least. Taking action to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility can seem like an overwhelming challenge, even for folks who have been doing this work for a while!Please join us Tuesday July 19th, 4:00-5:00pm EDT / 1:00-2:00pm PDT as we explore the Social Change Ecosystem Map. Created by writer, facilitator, and activist Deepa Iyer of the Building Movement Project, the "Social Change Ecosystem Map is a framework that can help individuals, networks, and organizations align with social change values, individual roles, and the broader ecosystem" of DEIA work in any context. For this Community Hour, we invite you to take some time to read and reflect through the Social Change Ecosystem Guide prior to our discussion if possible. If not, join us anyway! We will cover as much as we can during our time together.Do you have insights or questions about the reading? Add them to the discussion prompt section in the Community Hour doc here.As always, we do not record the community hours to encourage free and open discussion.Click here to register for EAC's Community HourCheers,Lael and Lesley, EAC Co-Chairs
VREPS Virtual Social Hour
Join the Visual Resources Emerging Professionals and Students (VREPS) on July 8th at 4 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Eastern for a virtual social hour! Learn about what VREPS does to support emerging professionals and students, share your ideas about what events we can hold, and meet other emerging professionals!The social hour will include an introduction to VREPS and upcoming events, opportunities to ask questions and make suggestions, and time to chat and get to know other emerging professionals in the Visual Resources fields.If you're interested, register below to receive a Zoom link! We look forward to seeing new and old faces!
VREPS Social Hour
July 8th, 4 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Eastern
Register here: https://forms.gle/fEyTJMQmxsANu1QHA
Meeting ID: 876 6069 5641
--Best regards,Karissa Hurzeler and Allie Scholten, VREPS Co-Chairs