The Preservation Working Group and University Library will host a hands-on informational event from 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Champaign Public Library. People are invited to bring questions and items that need special care to the event titled “Heirlooms, Artifacts and Family Treasures: A Preservation Emporium.”
The event allows guests to meet and talk with preservation specialists whose expertise ranges from antiquities to quilts and textiles to digital media. Have you ever wondered how to preserve that old film of family memories or take care of a baptism outfit or wedding dress? Bring small, hand-held items to the library or come with images of larger items and have preservation questions answered by the experts.
At 2 p.m., Ann Schmitt, the vice president of programs at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, will speak on “Family Portraits: A Long History of Awkwardness.”
People love awkward family photos, both those of others and their own. The speaker is no exception. In the course of preparing programs for the exhibition, she enjoyed investigating the history of awkward portraits from the annals of art history to the present. In this talk, Schmitt will share some strange and amusing glimpses into the history of how and why people keep a visual record of themselves and their loved ones and why that record is worth preserving.
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