"To Conserve a Legacy": A Closer Look Behind the Exhibition by Leslie Guy Simply put this is a story about race and, like many uncomfortable subjects, it would be easiest to talk about race in an abstract or academic fashion. However, race, as it is consciously experienced, can be extremely personal and concrete. You may ask yourself, what in the world has race to do with museums? Not surprisingly, as with many other aspects of life, the museum world is not immune to the ill effects of societal woes. For example, I would venture to guess that your respective cultural institutions, in either their visitorship or staffing, are not representative of the nation's ethnic and racial makeup. This story is an example of the role that race plays in the museum world. Since I am not a writer, the best way to tell this story is from the beginning. In early 1996, I received a call from Joyce Hill-Stoner to accompany her and Ted Stanley, a fellow African American conservator and a senior paper conservator at Princeton University, to meet with a small group of curators from six Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). These curators were in the midst of a planning session for an exhibit highlighting the artistic holdings of their institutions. The exhibit that grew out of this planning session is now known as, " To Conserve a Legacy: American Art from Historically Black Colleges and Universities". At the time I distinctly remember being apprehensive; I had just completed my degree and I felt that I had very little of substance to add to the discussion. Yet, I was enthused about having the opportunity to speak to a group of people who were working to bring the work of African American artists to the forefront. An integral part of the curators' mission was to allow their students to become active participants in the creation and implementation of the exhibit. An invitation was extended to the visiting group of conservators to reach out to African American students from the participating institutions (this lead to my traveling to several HBCUs where student audiences were introduced to the field of conservation). Thus, the story that I have to tell is about my experience in visiting HBCUs to speak with students about Art conservation and my experience as an African American woman in the field. Along the journey I gained insight into my own cultural heritage as well as an increased awareness of how my race has shaped my career path and directly impacts my perspective of museums. Back to conference agenda