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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

Eskenazi Museum’s 'Collections Online' shows over 2,200 works on website

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Over 2,200 works owned by the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art are now available to view on Collections Online, extending museum access to educators, potential visitors and those unable to enter the museum because of proximity or disabilities.

Manager of museum technology Cassi Tucker said Collections Online allows viewers to see works that are not on-view at the museum.

“By putting it online, we’re giving a new doorway to be part of this experience,” Tucker said.

Tucker said each of the curatorial areas, such as European and American Art, will ideally contribute 500 pieces to the website per year, which was launched Feb. 28. She said she hopes to eventually make the entire Eskenazi collection accessible online. There are around 45,000 pieces in the museum.

“Collections Online lets us bridge that gap where people can find out more about our collection beyond the tiny, tiny percentage they’re going to see in the gallery,” Tucker said. 

The curatorial staff has to check factual information and update research for every item before it is added to the website. Therefore, gradually adding pieces each year helps make the project manageable, Tucker said.

Some pieces on the website are included because they are important or interesting, while others, like works on paper, are well-suited for Collections Online because they are particularly sensitive to light, Tucker said. 

The website shows a photo of each piece with its title, artist, style, date, medium and dimensions. This basic information is called “tombstone” information. Other online museum collections adhere to this standard, too. If a piece has been on display in the museum, the website will show its gallery label. 

Works on Collections Online also have an image description, or a short visual explanation of the piece. Galina Olmsted, assistant curator of European and American art, said people with vision impairments can use a screen reader to hear what the work looks like. 

“You don’t necessarily have to be sighted to understand and learn from the works in our collection,” Olmsted said. 

The image description is one of the ways that Collections Online makes the museum experience more accessible. Tucker said the website helps make the museum approachable and welcoming to everyone, whether or not they can readily access it.

Olmsted said Collections Online was a joint effort between Tucker and the museum's curatorial staff, who chose works from each of their collections to add to the website. They began building the site 18 months ago. 

Olmsted said Collections Online broadly represents the museum’s collection.

“It’s a great way for people to realize what we have, recognize the strength of our collection and to plan that trip to come see works of art in person,” Olmsted said. 

Website visitors can see and read about Asian, European, African, Indigenous American and Oceanic art, as well as prints, drawings and photographs. They can search by artist, title or keyword for a piece. 

The Office of the Provost & Executive Vice President helped fund Collections Online.

Tucker said the website can also be a teaching tool for educators to use regularly in their classrooms. In addition to planning visits to the Eskenazi, teachers can refer to the website in their classes.

“It’s a living project,” Tucker said. “We hope that it shows people that there’s always something new and unusual to find here.”

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