J.B. Speed Art Museum

Purpose: Sustaining Cultural Heritage To mark the 80th anniversary of the Speed Art Museum in 2007, the museum will develop a new installation of its permanent collection, for the first time putting the collection into the historical and cultural context of Louisville, Kentucky and the immediate region and providing an important case study of the development of the arts in the city and the region. The reinstallation will develop four themes: Louisville as the first western frontier; the role of patronage in the arts; racial, ethnic, and gender identity in the arts and art education; and heroes. This grant will support planning for the reinstallation that will result in a broad base of knowledge that will inform the development of the installation's themes, content, and interpretive approaches; future educational programs; and marketing and communications strategies. During the grant period, the museum will meet with scholar and education advisory panels; conduct advanced research on potential works and themes in the installation; confer with institutions that have completed similar projects; develop educational strategies; develop and evaluate gallery reinstallation prototypes and collection handbook themes and prototypes; and plan national, regional, and local marketing and communications strategies to maximize visitor participation.