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For Immediate Release
June 02, 2003
Subject: Museum Awarded Prestigious IMLS Conservation
Grant
Iowa City--The University of Iowa Museum of Natural
History announced today it has been awarded a grant from the federal
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to begin the process
of restoring its historic Laysan Island Cyclorama. The $5,000
grant will fund the visit of two professional conservators to
make a detailed inspection of the exhibit and recommend a plan
to restore and protect the 89 year-old exhibit.
According to project coordinator David Brenzel,
"This is just the first step. The real work starts after we get
the treatment plan from the experts. Cleaning the more than 100
birds and 138 foot-long mural will take years. ItŐs going to be
a terrific learning opportunity. We hope to involve as many students
and volunteers as possible in the process."
Conservation Project Support (CPS) awards fund a
wide range of projects to help museums safeguard their collections.
The grants, which are awarded by a competitive peer review process,
help museums undertake their most critical conservation activities.
The agency received 234 grant proposals in 2003, requesting a
total of $6.3 million. Only 86 projects were funded, totaling
$2.8 million. The University of Iowa was one of only two State
institutions receiving awards this year.
IMLS Director Robert Martin said, "The Institute
of Museum and Library Services strives to raise the visibility
of conservation as a cornerstone of museum practice. With funding
from the IMLS Conservation Project Support grant program, museum
are able to care for collections that encompass the artistic,
historical, and scientific heritage of our nation. We commend
the recipient institutions. They recognize the importance of the
collective responsibility they bear."
The Laysan Island Cyclorama is the only exhibit
of its kind in the world. It was the first attempt to adopt the
principles of the diorama on a large scale to convey biological
information and the first serious attempt to recreate an entire
ecosystem in an exhibit to study the principles of ecology and
evolution. Completed in 1914, the Cyclorama includes over a ton
of rocks, sand and other materials collected on the remote Hawaiian
atoll, dozens of handcrafted plants and more than 100 mounted
birds, including several now extinct. A giant 12 ft. high, 138
ft. long mural painted by Charles Corwin, the first American artist
to specialize in painting diorama backgrounds, surrounds the exhibit,
completing the illusion.
For further information about the project contact
David Brenzel, Coordinator, Museum of Natural History at 335-0480
(or david-brenzel@uiowa.edu). IMLS contact: Mamie Bittner 202-606-8339
(or mbittner@imls.gov).
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