PHILADELPHIA – March 18, 2013 – The Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) announces the final four weeks of a statewide call to libraries, museums, historic sites and archives to participate in a new program called Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts.  This initiative to save the state’s most significant artifacts seeks nominations of inspiring historic items – drawings, paintings, manuscripts, rare books, maps, photographs, objects, textiles and more – that illuminate important stories of the state’s history and are in need of conservation. Institutions may nominate an artifact at patop10artifacts.org by Monday, April 15 at midnight.

Each nominating institution must:
·       Be located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
·       Be a nonprofit organization or unit of state, county, or local government.
·       Have a collection that is accessible to the public.
·       Have one staff member or volunteer who will be available to coordinate and follow through with marketing and publicity if the organization’s object is selected as a Top 10 Endangered Artifact.

The nominatedartifact must:
·       Be historically significant.
·       Be demonstrably in need of conservation.
·       Be an artifact or a related group of artifacts and cannot be a building.

The top 10 objects, selected by an independent review panel of collections care professionals, will be featured on a new micro-fundraising site and promoted through marketing and social media campaigns in a new model for heritage fundraising and awareness building. On this website, the public can vote for and donate to their favorite objects from the group of 10, encouraging some friendly competition among institutions and history enthusiasts.

“This initiative is a wonderful opportunity for the participating organizations to engage with the public on the important issues of collections care and the need to preserve Pennsylvania’s heritage,” says Ingrid E. Bogel, Executive Director of the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts. “With a sustainable fundraising platform and the community’s support, we will ensure that artifacts vital to preserving the nation’s history remain accessible to the public, educators, students and researchers.”

The project is part of CCAHA’s Save Pennsylvania’s Past initiative, a multi-year, statewide effort to protect and preserve the millions of objects and historic artifacts that shape the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s history and define our nation.

Nominations for the Top 10 Endangered Artifacts will be accepted at patop10artifacts.org through April 15, 2013. The top 10 will be announced in September, followed by public voting and donations and the announcement of a People’s Choice Winner. Funds raised through the online platform during the competition will be used to conserve the Top 10 Endangered Artifacts.

About Save Pennsylvania’s Past

Save Pennsylvania’s Past is a statewide effort to preserve the millions of objects and historic artifacts that shape the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s history and define our nation. Now in its second year, this two-year initiative is preparing collections care staff to address the challenges threatening Pennsylvania’s world-class collections through training programs and online resources.

As Save Pennsylvania’s Past project leader, CCAHA has partnered with a creative coalition of arts, cultural, educational, government, and historic organizations from all across the state: the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC), PA Museums, and LYRASIS. The initiative is supported by an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Connecting to Collections Statewide Implementation Grant, by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and by the Arthur Ross Foundation, Inc.

Acknowledgements

Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through The Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative, with additional support from The Beneficial Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Beneficial Bank.