AIC's 51st Annual Meeting

In 2020, Clemson University’s Warren Lasch Conservation Center (WLCC) began working with staff at the International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina. The museum is located at Gadsden’s Wharf, the site where roughly 40% of all enslaved Africans entered the United States during the Atlantic slave trade. The museum’s galleries will explore untold stories from the African American journey into the City of Charleston, which served as a significant and strategic port during the colonial and antebellum periods. These stories will highlight how the City of Charleston and surrounding regions have been influenced by the slave trade, the system of slavery, and African American cultural heritage before and after emancipation. Stories of resistance and excellence, like that of Althea Gibson, will be showcased, as well as the Gullah Geechee culture, which is a prominent diasporic group in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Additionally, rich scientific, artistic, and cultural contributions that emerged in Africa prior to the transatlantic slave trade will be illustrated as to how these thoughts, ideas, and practices continued even after arriving in this region.
When the museum was initially proposed, the original idea was that it would serve as a ‘non-collecting’ institution displaying mostly loan objects with a limited permanent collection. Over the years, the vision of what IAAM would look like slowly evolved while the galleries were designed and the collection was assembled. As the organization’s vision changed, the museum transformed too, becoming a more fully realized space with the possibility for a cohesive and inclusive representation of its collection. Simultaneously, the relationship between WLCC and IAAM continued to strengthen as the changing needs of the museum were met with support and flexibility from WLCC staff.
This poster outlines the processes relating to the intake, storage, and transportation of the IAAM collection, as well as how WLCC and IAAM have been able to navigate changes together. As the mission of the museum transformed significantly over time, those involved needed to adapt to these changes, including how object intake was handled, storage facilities provided for the growing collection, and the implementation of additional resources, including preparing objects for display and permanently storing the rest of the objects in the collection. WLCC has helped create a cost-effective, sustainable, and reliable solution for a local museum, which is limited by space and staff. The relationship between WLCC and IAAM will continue to grow into a stronger partnership, even after the opening of the museum in early 2023.