In the Public Trust
An examination of the accession process by which objects become a legal part of the museum’s collection, documenting the journey an object goes through from the point of donation or acquisition, to becoming a fully documented piece in the museum’s collection.
Did you know that every object in the Avenir Museum’s expansive collection belongs to you? Museums and other collecting institutions hold their collections for the good of the public they serve, with the goal of preserving their holdings in perpetuity for future generations. This concept is called ‘the public trust,’ a principle stating that certain natural and cultural resources are owned by the public and should be protected and preserved for the research, education, and enjoyment of the public at large. But how do these objects become part of the museum’s collection, held in the public trust?
Just beyond the walls of this gallery, approximately 25,000 objects spanning from pre-Columbian times to the 21st century rest, carefully stored within archival museum cabinets. Cultural textiles and garments from across the globe, designer fashion, household and interior furnishings, and a myriad of other objects sit safely housed in swaths of acid-free tissue, foam, and muslin to protect and preserve them for the public.
The journey an object takes to enter a museum’s collection is no small feat and no two journeys are the same. By the time objects reach the museum, many have lived a full life and may be worn, torn, ripped, repaired, mended, altered, or in pristine condition. The diversity of incoming objects that grow our collection arrive in various states of condition, each with specific needs in terms of storage, stabilization, and preservation. Before these objects are shown in an exhibit or classroom, each object must first undergo a diligent record-taking process called accessioning.
Accessioning an object into a museum represents the full legal transition of the object out of private hands into a public collection bound by the principle of public trust. The accession process is vital to every museum, yet is often overlooked when discussing museum collections. Not only does accessioning inform museum professionals how to best care for the newest addition to the collection, but the deep observation and description required of the process can reveal unique research questions and inform future exhibition and educational uses for each object.
Objects featured in this exhibit were selected based on common characteristics seen throughout our collection that require special consideration through the accession process and beyond. We invite you to learn about these objects which were researched in tandem with their accession sheet, a process which elucidated unique stories and information about the objects and their histories. Through this process, In the Public Trust illuminates the endless possibilities for research held within the Avenir Museum’s collection.
Select Images
Programs
Meet the Curator
Brooklyn Benjamin is a continuing graduate student in the Department of Design and Merchandising at Colorado State University. She received an undergraduate degree in Apparel and Merchandising, with an emphasis on Museums and the Business of Art from Iowa State University (ISU) in 2019. Brooklyn has interned with the Textiles and Clothing Museum at ISU, a travelling Smithsonian Main Street exhibition, and the Memorial Union Lending and Art Collection at ISU. Upon graduating from Iowa State University, Brooklyn worked as a Visual Merchandiser for Target, before deciding it was time to pursue her graduate degree.
As a graduate student, Brooklyn has served as a graduate teaching/research assistant for historic costume and textiles courses taught by the curator of the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising, as well as helped to install and curate multiple exhibitions at the Avenir Museum. She enjoys the iterative and creative process of curating and mounting various textiles within the Avenir Museum’s collection.
