Etched in Memory: Legacy Planning for Artists

“Etched in Memory: Legacy Planning for Artists” is a web resource designed to assist artists in preparing for and protecting their professional legacy through sound planning and archival practices. All artists face the issue of building and maintaining their artistic reputations and creative output. Artists can assist their surviving partners, family and friends with decisions on financial issues and estates, as well as the disposition of their personal papers, business records and artwork.

Some of the resources found here are the result of a one-day symposium held in the Scholarly Communication Center (SCC) at Alexander Library on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers in New Brunswick, on Friday, March 20, 2009.

Ronald Becker
Head, Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries

He joined the Special Collections and University Archives at Rutgers University Library in 1974. Currently head of Special Collections and the University Archives, he is former cataloger and bibliographer at the New Jersey Historical Society. Currently Chair of the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission and member of the NJ State Historical Records Advisory Board as well as the Center for Jewish History Center Archives Advisory Board, Mr. Becker is past-President of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference and past-editor of the Mid-Atlantic Archivist. Mr. Becker’s work has been widely recognized in awards from the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the Brown-Forman Foundation, and the Brotherton Foundation. He was named New Jersey Educator of the Year in 2007, and received the Richard J. Hughes Award Pitcher in Recognition for Outstanding Service to Public Knowledge and Preservation of the History of New Jersey, the highest award bestowed by the New Jersey Historical Commission.

Etched in Memory logo features Miriam Schapiro's "In the Land of Oo-bla-dee: Homage to Mary Lou Williams," 1993. Courtesy of the Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions.	The original symposium was sponsored by the Institute for Women and Art (IWA) at Rutgers in partnership with the Rutgers University Libraries. The IWA operates under the auspices of the Office of the Associate Vice President for Academic & Public Partnerships in the Arts & Humanities. These events are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Etched in Memory Project Team included: Dr. Ferris Olin, Principal Investigator; Nicole Plett, Project Manager; Joe Namashe, Videographer; Ricki Sablove, Symposium Organizer; Katherine Scott, Symposium Organizer and Web Site Developer.