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Announcing the VRA Distinguished Service Award and Nancy DeLaurier Recipients

PRESS RELEASEMarch 29, 2021Contact: Visual Resources Association info@vraweb.orgOnline Address: httpS://vraweb.org/about/committees/awards-committee/VISUAL RESOURCES ASSOCIATION PRESENTS 2021 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD TO MARCIA MEEKER FOCHT AND NANCY DELAURIER AWARD TO ANNA BERNHARD AND HEATHER LOWE FOR THEIR WORK FOUNDING THE VISUAL RESOURCES EMERGING PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS GROUPVIRTUAL CHICAGO, Illinois—The Visual Resources Association (VRA), a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to furthering research and education in the field of image management, proudly presented the 2021 Distinguished Service Award (DSA) to Marcia Meeker Focht, Binghamton University’s Visual Resources Curator, at the Virtual Chicago conference on March 25th. The VRA annually honors an individual who has made an outstanding career contribution to the field of visual resources and image management. DSA recipients have achieved a level of distinction through leadership, research, service to the profession, outstanding innovation, participation, or project management.smiling person in a blue shirtIn over 30 years of active participation in VRA, Focht has helped to shape the association through her empathetic leadership and extraordinary service record—two terms on the VRA Executive Board, participation in various committees, task forces, and other special interest groups, and currently, Chair of the VRA Foundation. This breadth of service is only surpassed by her considerable professional talents, sincere dedication, and engaging personality. For example, she is primarily responsible for the success of the VRA Mentor Program with 13 years of “cheerleading” and matching new members with nurturing veterans to contribute to positive conference experiences and to help with ongoing professional development. She has welcomed more people to VRA than any other member, mentored many a future leader, and contributed to member retention.A forward-looking embracer of new technologies, Focht successfully transitioned her image collection from analog to digital images, collaborated with other campuses in the SUNY system to find ways to share Binghamton’s growing collection, and she continues to experiment with new technologies through digital humanities initiatives. As Tom McDonough, a Binghamton professor, stated in his letter of support, “What I’d most like to emphasize here, however, is not so much her assistance to the Art History faculty—her role was never merely supplemental or supportive—but her groundbreaking role in introducing us to the research and pedagogical potentials of the new tools offered by digital technology. Marcia could never be mistaken for a complacent figure; she has consistently sought out new ideas, new opportunities, and brought them back to campus to share with students and faculty alike.” An “ambassador” of embedded metadata, she has presented and published on the innovative tools the VRA developed at regional, national, and international conferences.Focht’s career-long dedication has involved hard work, intellectual curiosity, and impressive productivity, all accomplished with boundless enthusiasm, genuine warmth, and an infectious sense of humor. VRA President, Jeannine Keefer, stated “Marcia exemplifies the numerous ways that members can participate and give back to VRA via committee and chapter participation, leadership roles, discussion contributions, and sharing our work with the world outside the association. Her mentorship and encouragement has meant the world to me over the years. I could not have asked for a better professional role model or a more dear friend.” Focht richly deserves the DSA award for her unparalleled spirit of volunteerism and career-long dedication to the visual resources profession. She has given “her head and her heart” to VRA and the membership has benefitted greatly from her generosity.smiling person in a turtleneck shirt smiling person in a plaid shirtThe Nancy DeLaurier Award (NDL), named for one of the pioneers of the Visual Resources profession, honors distinguished achievement in the field of image management. “Achievement" is measured by immediate impact and may take the form of published work, oral presentation, project management, software development, technology application, Web site creation, or other outstanding effort. The NDL was enthusiastically bestowed on Anna Bernhard and Heather Lowe for their foundational work with the Visual Resources Emerging Professionals and Students group (VREPS).Under the initial leadership of these two founding chairs, VREPS created a space where emerging VRA professionals can build kinship, network, exchange ideas, collaborate, and thrive. Anna, Heather, and the newfound VREPS group recognized that early professionals and students were entering a drastically different employment landscape than their more established VRA colleagues, and they sought to provide a variety of support for these association members. As the nominator, Jasmine Burns of Cornell University, shared, "Anna and Heather set a wonderful example of what emerging professionals could accomplish in and outside of the VRA. Their example gave me the confidence and eagerness to run for office, serve in chapter leadership, and continue building my job-related skills before I even hit the job market. The inclusive space that they created during my first-ever conference experience made me a long-lasting member and fostered my connections with other people in the same boat, many of whom remain my treasured, life-long colleagues."The group focuses on developing job searching skills, networking, and finding professional development opportunities, such as relevant webinars, workshops, and conferences. VREPS sponsors VRA conference sessions and workshops as well as the annual “Night Out,” an informal, open, social outing that provides emerging professionals an opportunity to get to know each other and form new relationships in an informal setting, both of which have become a formalized features of the VRA conference. They alert group members about calls for papers/proposals, fellowships, internships, scholarships/awards, employment openings, and other opportunities. The VREPS blog became the go-to source for job and internship opportunities in the field and inspired the creation of the VRA Job Digest. By the time Anna and Heather stepped down from their VREPS leadership roles, the group had firmly solidified its place within the VRA. Bernhard and Lowe have more than paid back any mentorship they received by developing this new mechanism to warmly welcome emerging professional and students to the field of visual resources.Visual Resources Association http://www.vraweb.org/

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VRA 2021: Film Screening of '63 Boycott

While we are not able to gather in Chicago in person, the Local Planning Committee would like to draw your attention to some elements of the VRA 2021 conference program that are specific to Chicago.
We are pleased and excited that our keynote speaker will be Steven D. Booth, an archivist, researcher, and co-founder of the Blackivists, a collective of trained Black memory workers who provide expertise on archiving and preservation practices to communities in the Chicagoland area. His work and research interests include born-digital audiovisual materials, Black cultural heritage preservation, community archives, and digital scholarship. Steven currently manages the audiovisual collection for the Barack Obama Presidential Library. Steven’s presentation, The Afterlife of What We Archive, will be Tuesday, Mar 23 from 11:00-12:30 pm (Central Time). The online event will be live-streamed via YouTube and open to the public (link forthcoming on the Conference website), however only registered conference attendees will be able to participate in the Q&A following the talk. All registered conference attendees will receive an email with a direct link to the Zoom Webinar.
Black and white film still showing protestors and police in the street
On October 22 of 1963, over 200,000 students and 10,000 of Chicago’s citizens staged a walk-out and boycott of the public schools to protest segregationist policies of the Chicago Public Schools. The protesters formed marches that headed for downtown Chicago. Documentary filmmaker Gordon Quinn, then a University of Chicago student, filmed the protest. That footage formed the core of a 2017 documentary called ’63 Boycott, produced by Kartemquin Films of Chicago. ’63 Boycott will be the central theme of a conference session in which Gordon Quinn and Rachel Dickson of Kartemquin Films will discuss how the film and other related materials are used by students to create meaningful and unique scholarship. The '63 Boycott session will be Tuesday, March 23 from 1:00-2:00 pm (Central Time), following Steven D. Booth’s presentation.
In addition, Kartemquin Films and VRA are providing ’63 Boycott as a streamed film available to all registered conference attendees. The 30 minute film will be available to all registered conference attendees from Tuesday through Friday though the Attendee Portal, and there will be opportunities for group discussions on the film.
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VRA 2021: Early Bird Registration Ends Soon

We’re just a month away from the start of VRA 2021!If you haven’t registered yet for the annual conference, now is the time to take advantage of Early Bird Rates, which are good through Saturday, March 6. While we will miss seeing everyone in person, the online format has two major advantages: we are able to offer lower registration fees this year and we are able to welcome attendees from around the world.Early Bird Rates available through March 6, 2021Member: $100Non-member: $200Student, Retired, Unemployed: $75Non-member Student, Retired, Unemployed: $125Members of affiliate organizations (ARLIS/NA, CAA, SAH, SECAC, CAICC) will register at the VRA Member rate.You can register through the conference website or at this direct link: https://vra.memberclicks.net/2021vra38. New members should register at the Non-member rate.In the next few weeks, we will be sharing more information about our virtual host city, Chicago, Steven D. Booth’s keynote address, and what you need to know to get the most out of our online conference. We plan to open the VRA 2021 Attendee Portal on March 15, one week early, so you have time to look around, read the FAQs, and ask your questions in advance.The VRA Board, our Membership Services Coordinator, and all of our conference content contributors and volunteers are working hard behind the scenes to prepare for VRA 2021. We hope you can join us in March.Looking forward to VRA 2021!Meghan RubensteinVRA Public Relations and Communication Officer

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VRA 2021: SIGs and SUGs

Did you know that within VRA there are a number of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and Special User Groups (SUGs)? Over time, these communities have formed organically, shifting focus based on the interests of their current members. Each year at the annual VRA conference, a number of these groups sponsor sessions open to all attendees. VRA 2021, virtualChicago, is no exception! If you are looking to learn more about the work of our SIGs and SUGS, or want to join up with more like-minded individuals, keep these sessions on your radar as you build your own conference program on Sched.Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and Special User Groups (SUGs) at VRA 2021: Monday, March 22 

Tuesday, March 23 

Wednesday, March 24 

Thursday, March 25 

Friday, March 26

  

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VRA 2021: DEIA Events

Raised hands in various shades of brown with pink and red hearts on the palms in front of a blue backgroundGreetings All,The Equitable Action Committee invites you to attend the many events during VRA 2021 that are related to the VRA’s equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts.Monday, March 22

Tuesday, March 23

Wednesday, March 24

Thursday, March 25

Friday, March 26

 If you are unable to attend VRA 2021 and have suggestions for EAC, you may fill out the form here (https://bit.ly/38Y8nGZ).Contributed by Equitable Action Committee Co-chairs:Lael Ensor-Bennett, Johns Hopkins UniversityKendra Werst, Williams College

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VRA 2021: The Lifecycle of Visual Assets

The conference schedule is jam-packed with sessions for all types of visual asset professionals. Transcending the differences in our workplaces and position titles, we all engage with materials and people along the visual asset management lifecycle.Circle divided into colored sections with vra in center. Around the perimeter is the lifecycle of visual assets: conceptualization, capture, description, management, access, preservation, and use.The Lifecycle was identified by the VRA Identity Task Force reflecting key points of practice and professional interest. The VRA 2021 virtualChicago conference can be filtered according to these lifecycle categories to create programming tracks. You can click on the links below to find events, sessions, and workshops that align with these categories.Lifecycle of Visual Assets wheel highlighting Conceptualization, which includes consultation, project planning, workflow design, system & standards selection, and best practicesSched Lifecycle Category: ConceptualizationLifecycle of Visual Assets wheel highlighting Capture, which includes acquisition, digitization, photography, and creationSched Lifecycle Category: CaptureLifecycle of Visual Assets wheel highlighting Description, which includes metadata and cataloguing standards and authoritiesSched Lifecycle Category: DescriptionLifecycle of Visual Assets wheel highlighting Management, which includes database/DAMS, collection development, curation, and distributionSched Lifecycle Category: ManagementLifecycle of Visual Assets wheel highlighting Access, which includes delivery, discovery, instruction, and outreachSched Lifecycle Category: AccessLifecycle of Visual Assets wheel highlighting Preservation, which includes data integrity, migration, storage, and de-accessioningSched Lifecycle Category: PreservationLifecycle of Visual Assets wheel highlighting Use, which includes digital scholarship, visual literacy, intellectual property, and transformation

Sched Lifecycle Category: Use

Submitted by Sara Schumacher, Vice President of Conference Program

     

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VRA 2021: Workshops

Workshops have always been a popular component of the VRA conference and the move to virtual has allowed for innovation while maintaining crucial hands-on participation.

Have you downloaded and started to use OpenRefine, but need help as you apply it to your work?Jasmine Burns will be your guide through real-life examples and answer all your questions in “Let’s Play OpenRefine Reconciliation!” on Monday, March 22, 11am-1pm CST

Do you struggle with organizing your thoughts, representing your ideas, and sharing the value and importance of your work?John Trendler, Sheryl Frisch, and Rebecca Moss will empower you through active prompts to harness the power of visual communication in “Visual Communication for Knowledge Acquisition, Processing and Dissemination” on Monday, March 22, 11am-3pm CST

Are you worried that your digital collections are not accessible to all users?Tiffany Saulter and Carie Fisher, consultants and trainers from Deque, will help you sort through the tools and strategies to identify accessibility problems and solve them in “Digital Accessibility and Accessible Design Practices” on Monday, March 22, 1-4pm CST

These workshops are filling up fast, so do not hesitate to add them to your conference registration OR as a stand-alone workshop (additional $35 processing fee). Are you already registered for the conference? Contact VRA Membership Services Coordinator at join@vraweb.org for assistance.

Learn more about the week-long conference at httpS://vraweb.org/2021-chicago.Submitted by Sara Schumacher, VRA Vice President for Conference Program

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