A Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges to Promote Asian Studies
Asian Art Consultancy Program
a continuation of the “Asian Art in the Undergraduate Curriculum” grant
supported by
The Henry Luce Foundation
This program continues to tap examples of Asian art and visual culture housed on campuses of ASIANetwork member schools in order that their images can be included in our online database of Asian art and artifacts. Reading Asian Art and Artifacts: Windows to Asia on American College Campuses, an ASIANetwork publication that is the end product of the original project, makes a case to integrate these resources in courses that teach about Asia. It suggests ways to utilize Asian art effectively in classroom instruction across the disciplines and how to use Asian art and visual culture discovered through the initial consultancies in classes ranging across the liberal arts curriculum. By continuing the consultancy program of the initial grant, we hope to add more images to our existing online database resource. Member schools are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity which will expire once grant funds are exhausted.
Program Outline
- The core project is identifying, classifying, and making available in electronic format a diverse selection of Asian art and visual culture useful in creating pedagogical materials.
- Requests for consultancy may be submitted during the academic year. ASIANetwork will match each school with the appropriate consultant.
- Schools applying for the grant identify on-campus coordinators responsible for preparing for the consultancy visit by identifying potentially useful items at their school and compiling a list of holdings to be examined during the consultancy.
- Consultants will visit the campuses to assist in analyzing collections and identifying items of aesthetic and pedagogic value.
- On-campus coordinators will arrange for quality digitization of the works the consultants select during their visit.
- School will be responsible for the expenses needed for digitization of the selected images.
- The grant will provide for consultants’ travel expenses and stipends. Schools will be responsible for consultants’ on-campus expenses (and, if an optional special lecture is desired, responsible for the honorarium for that lecture).
- The grant will provide stipend to the on-campus coordinators.
- Schools will be asked to grant copyright permission to include the images in our online database.
The Application Process
In order to evaluate effectively the suitability of a college for a consultancy visit, requests for such a visit should include: 1) An outline of the contents of the applicant college’s Asian art and visual culture collection. The outline should also include a brief summary of the history, method of acquisition, etc. of as many individual pieces as is possible. 2) The current status of the collection: Is it being displayed, or is it being stored? Are the individual works in generally good repair? 3) Identification of museum personnel or art history faculty at the college who have worked with or are currently working with the collection. 4) The name of the on-campus coordinator for the consultancy and the coordinator’s resumé. 5) An iteration of the coordinator’s responsibilities for the consultant’s visit. These responsibilities should include surveying the collection, arranging the consultant visit, continuing communication with the Consultancy Coordinator regarding progress in further cataloguing and digitizing the collection, and handling copyright permissions.
An excellent proposal will include a statement about the items in the collection that establishes a solid basis for a consultancy visit. The qualifications of the on-campus coordinator who will be working with the consultant should be stated in a manner that emphasizes the coordinator’s willingness and ability to undertake such a major project and see the school’s participation through to its completion.
Contact Dr. Mary Beth Heston, Consultancy Coordinator, Department of Art History, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC; phone 843-953-6313, e-mail hestonm [at] cofc.edu for further information.
Program Flyer (PDF format)
The Henry Luce Foundation was established in 1936 by the late Henry R. Luce, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time Inc. Among the Foundation’s many grant-making initiatives are those that support increased understanding between the United States and Asia.