VRA Quarterly Newsletter | Summer 2023
Summer 2023 Association News
VRA 2023 Conference
There's just over a month left to take advantage of the Early Bird discount on registration for the VRA 2023 Conference in San Antonio! Check out the preliminary schedule on Sched and register now to join us September 26-28. Remember to use the code EARLY BIRD to get your discount!
Book your stay at Hotel Valencia Riverwalk at the special VRA Conference rate of $169 (+taxes) per night by using the VRA 2023 Annual Conference Booking Link, or call the reservations line at (855) 596-3387 and ask for the Visual Resources Association 2023 Annual Conference group.
Travel Awards Deadline Extended
Good news! The deadline to apply for a VRA Travel Award has been extended to July 30th! Travel Awards provide financial support for your attendance at the 2023 VRA Conference. Recipients will be announced the week of August 11th. You do not need to be a member of the VRA to apply for a Travel Award. Apply today!
VRA Awards Scouting
The VRA Awards Committee is scouting for potential nominators and nominees for the Distinguished Service (career achievement) and Nancy DeLaurier (project, publication, or other accomplishments) 2023 Awards to be conferred at the Annual Conference in San Antonio. If you would like to share your ideas about any deserving people or impactful projects, please complete this Google form. More information about the awards is available on the Awards page.
Internship Award Applications Close July 31st
Applications are open until July 31st for the 11th VRA Internship Award. Generously funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the award grants $3,000 to support a period of internship in archives, libraries, museums, visual resources collections in academic institutions, or other appropriate contexts. It also provides $1,000 for professional development along with a one-year complimentary student membership in the Visual Resources Association. Contact Grants Officer Liz Gadelha at grants@vraweb.org with any questions about the award and application process.
VRA Bulletin Spring/Summer 2023 Issue Published
The Spring/Summer 2023 issue of the VRA Bulletin (VRAB) is now available. Explore the new issue of the VRA's fully open access journal.
VRA Bulletin Fall/Winter 2024 Special Issue Call for Papers
The VRAB issued a call for papers for a special issue, "The Root of Things: Grounding the Digital Humanities in an Increasingly Groundless World," to be guest-edited by Apartheid Heritages. Proposals are due by August 15th. The issue will be published in late fall 2024.
Summer Educational Institute (SEI)
The Summer Educational Institute (SEI) for Digital Stewardship of Visual Information, a joint program of the Art Libraries Society of North America and the VRA, was held June 12-16 online using the Zoom platform. Highlights included the keynote "Our collective survival: Radicalizing care work in digital scholarship" by Elvia Arroyo-Ramírez, which was livestreamed on the VRA's YouTube channel.
EAC Community Hours
The Equitable Action Committee (EAC) continued their Community Hour series. Topics of focus included a discussion of the text "Fostering Transformation: Ethnic Studies as Critical Intervention for Primary Source Pedagogy" and working towards an equitable workplace when hiring, supervising, and mentoring student employees and interns. Community Hour notes are available on the committee’s webpage.
VRA-L
The VRA Listserv, VRA-L, moved to a new platform. From now on, all listserv posts should be sent to VRA-L@vra.memberclicks.net. The Board thanks Membership Services Coordinator Lisa Hawkos for her work coordinating this change that will give VRA-L the support it requires to remain vibrant! The new platform, MemberClicks E-lists, also allows for E-lists to be created for VRA member groups such as committees and task forces. If you are interested in learning more about this option, contact Lise at join@vraweb.org.
Upcoming Events
EAC Community Hour: “Nice White Meetings” Article Discussion
Monday, July 24, 1 p.m. EDT / 10 a.m. PDT
Join the EAC for a discussion of "'Nice White Meetings': Unpacking Absurd Library Bureaucracy through a Critical Race Theory Lens" by Lalitha Nataraj, Holly Hampton, Talitha R. Matlin, and Yvonne Nalani Meulemans.
Our Stories, Our Voices: A Hands-On Workshop on Digitizing Community Archives
August 25th, 9:30-5pm EDT
In-person workshop at George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY
Limited to 20 participants | $125 registration fee
LINK TO REGISTER | Link to info sheet for participants
Digitization, by us, for us. This workshop led by Elizabeth Chiang is geared towards community archives, kinfolk historians, and small groups, particularly those who want to leverage digitization as a means of sharing and preserving community history.
VRA Annual Conference
Tuesday, September 26-Thursday, September 28, 2023, San Antonio