ARLIS/DC-MD-VA Chapter
2013 Fall Meeting, October 11, 2013
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
Business Meeting
Present: Shalimar Fojas White (Chair, Dumbarton Oaks), Heather Slania (Vice Chair, NMWA), Sarah
Osborne Bender (Past Chair, Phillips Collection), Nick Curotto (Secretary/Treasurer, VMFA) Tessa
Brawley (Web Manager, Glenstone), Roger Lawson (Content Editor, NGA), Gregg Most (ARLIS/NA
President, NGA), Kristen Regina (Hillwood), Anne Evenhaugen (SAAM-NPG), Leila Prasertwaitaya (VCU),
Bettina Smith (Archives of American Art), Michel Scott (MICA), Erin Blake (Folger Shakespeare), Yuki
Hibben (VCU), Tony White (MICA), Alexandra Reigle (SIL), Emily Rafferty (Baltimore Museum of Art),
Anna Clarkson (Baltimore Museum of Art), Shira Loev Eller (Corcoran), Dan Moore, Oksana
Prokhvacheva (GWU), Julia Wisniewski (LOC), Lisa Bonaparte, Jacqueline Protka (NGA)
Introductions
Shalimar White called the meeting to order and asked members present to introduce themselves.
1. Approval of 2013 Summer Meeting Minutes (pre-circulated)
Meeting minutes were approved.
2. Report from the Chair
Shalimar Fojas White reported that the goal of raising $1,000 chapter’s donation for the upcoming 2014
Conference had been met and had, in fact, exceeded the target in the amount of $1,041. She thanked
Gregg Most for generously hosting the fundraiser event at his home that evening, following the chapter
meeting.
Gregg Most reported items from ARLIS/NA Executive Board meeting, which was held in September
2013. Chris Hibben, graphic designer of the 2014 Conference logo, has been commissioned to work on a
new logo for the national organization. The ARLIS/NA website is also under redesign and they are
planning to go live by the end of the calendar year. The new site will feature the Basecamp project
management software for use by committees for communication and collaboration. Conference
planning for the 2015 Fort Worth conference will be conducted in Basecamp, rather than PBworks.
3. Treasurer’s Report
Nick Curotto distributed a paper report of chapter revenues, expenditures, membership, and award
calculation to date. Nick reported that all major expenditures have been paid for the year and
membership numbers are up compared to previous yearly totals. Nick had also been working on revising
the chapter membership form for the 2014 membership renewal cycle. He distributed a paper draft and
the group discussed further edits, such as how conference volunteers should indicate their interest and
removing the call for donation. Nick will take the final draft and work with Tessa Brawley to update the
membership web form for online payments.
4. Web and Communications Report
Tessa Brawley reported that updating the chapter website to close comments after 10 days of the initial
post has dramatically decreased the amount of spam. Tessa did not have updated web statistics due to a
glitch in the Google Analytics code on the site, so she will send out updated numbers to the listserv.
Roger Lawson reported that there are 112 subscribers to the chapter listserv, which receives a
manageable amount of spam (4-5 per week). He requested that any individuals whose contact
information has changed to either unsubscribe/re-subscribe to the listserv, or contact Roger or Tessa to
update their subscription, so as to reduce bounce-back messages. Roger also put out a request for
additions to the Chapter’s blogroll.
5. Update on Chapter Facebook page
Alexandra Reigle gave a report on the Chapter’s Facebook page, which she created in the summer of
2013 with the assistance of Sarah Osborne Bender and Bettina Smith, Publicity and Web Coordinators
for the 2014 conference. So far, she has been reposting content from the listserv and blog. She
requested that members “like” the posts and submit more content and for posts on any art-related
events around the region. She also suggested that individuals send posts directly to her, rather than
posting them to the Chapter’s page, so that they may be shared with all. Alexandra will also send a call
for content to the chapter listserv, as well as an announcement about the creation of the page to the
ARLIS/NA listserv.
6. 2014 Conference Planning Committee Report
Roger Lawson reported that there are currently 28 sessions, 8 workshops, and 15 poster sessions.
Papers not selected for sessions were automatically added to the poster submissions. The 28 sessions
were divided into 4 theme categories: 1) Fostering Creativity ; 2) Power and Agency ; 3) Preserve and
Protect ; 4) Of, By, and For the People.
The conference will feature workshops on artists’ books, policy, provenance research, and grants. For
the latter session, a mock jury will be used to train participants in process of writing NEH grant proposals
for digital projects. For the provenance workshop, author Robert Edsel has generously donated copies of
his new book Beyond the Dreams of Avarice for all workshop participants.
Erin Blake offered to have the Folger Shakespeare Library host a cataloguing workshop to train
participants in the use of the recently released Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Graphics)
manual. The request was accepted. Erin will try to schedule the off-site workshop during the Thursday,
Monday, or Tuesday of the conference.
7. Update on Chapter-Level Mentoring Program
Eden Orelove was unable to attend, but it was reported to the group that nine mentees were
successfully paired with a mentor. For a full list, see the chapter website:
http://arlisdmv.org/2013/09/chapter-mentoring-program-update/
8. Call for Nominations for Open Office – Vice Chair
Shalimar thanked Sarah Osborne Bender for her 3 years of service and congratulated Heather Slania,
who will take up the post of Chapter Chair in 2014. Shalimar then called for any volunteers or
nominations for candidates for Chapter Vice Chair in 2014. She will send out a call to the listserv for
additional volunteers/nominations.
9. Other Business
Anne Evenhaugen announced that the Smithsonian American Art Museum National Portrait Gallery
Library will be hosting a Wikipedia edit-a-thon on October 25, 2013, which will be followed by a happy
hour in the evening. Sarah Osborne Bender reported that the Phillips Collection library will also be
hosting an upcoming Wikipedia edit-a-thon and that it is a great way to highlight an institution’s archives
and source materials. Announcements for both events will be sent to the chapter listserv and blog.
Chapter Business Meeting adjourned.
Conference Planning Meeting called to order by Roger Lawson.