vrafoundation.orgVisual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) - Visual Resources Association Foundation

Skip to content vrafoundation@gmail.com Visual Resources Association Foundation Home Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) Mission Board of Directors Organizational Documents Visual Resources Association History VRA Foundation FAQ News Calendar Grants Professional Development Grant Project Grant Internship Award How to Apply for an Internship Award Host Institutions Internship Award Recipients Regional Workshops Current Regional Workshops Can We Do That? Intellectual Property Rights and Visual Media Collaborating Across the Institution: Creating Professional Partnerships to Support Cultural Heritage Metadata and Management of Cultural Heritage Digital Media: From Fundamentals to Future Trends (2020) 2019-2020 Workshop Roster Past Regional Workshops Regional Workshop Implementation Team Apply to Host a Regional Workshop Regional Workshop FAQ Summer Educational Institute (SEI) Donate Foundation Donors Donation FAQ Contact Search for: Menu Regional Workshop @ Kodak Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY, 2018 Winter 2020 Professional Development Grant Recipient VRA Foundation Thank You Donor Reception, March 2019 2020 Project Grant Recipient, Stephanie Becker 2019 VRAF Internship Recipient SEI 2020 has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will make an announcement about SEI 2021 on our website once the dates are secured. Thank you. Regional Workshop @ University of Denver, 2019 Who we are The Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) strengthens the visual resources field by increasing public and professional awareness of visual information management while advocating for the value of images in the teaching and learning environment. The Foundation supports a range of educational activities in multiple formats and venues, for example, instructional tools, regional workshops, online learning, and advocacy materials, to build bridges across the information management and educational communities. The Foundation’s research interests advance scholarship in the field, improve outreach to the larger community on significant issues, such as intellectual property rights and the development of best practices protocols for the dissemination of digital images, and further public access to visual resources information. Significant areas of focus include image collections, technology, metadata, cataloging, visual literacy, and copyright. The Foundation’s educational and research agenda advances scholarship in the field and improves outreach to the larger community. Joint VRAF and VRA Solidarity Statement The VRA and VRAF condemn all violence, and acts of racism, including police brutality, against Black people, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Unacknowledged structural, institutionalized, and legislated racism can no longer be tolerated. Our Black colleagues, their lives, their work, and their sense of belonging to this community matter. As a members’ organization (VRA) and a foundation (VRAF), we strive to create an inclusive community that values and encourages diversity in its membership and work. Our mission is not only to promote knowledge sharing, skill development, and best practices, but also to foster open, inclusive communication; to offer a supportive community; and to advocate for all people who engage in the management of visual assets. We have an obligation to do the work necessary to live up to this mission. Inclusion requires that we acknowledge the intergenerational history and persistence of systemic racism and actively work to counter racism and its lethal effects. We must disrupt the roles that our institutions and practices play in perpetuating injustice and racism by asking what we need to change in hiring and promotions, in curricula, in collecting policies, in description of materials, and in making our knowledge and materials accessible. We must acknowledge that the leadership and membership of VRA and VRAF is disproportionately white and that writing this statement does not resolve long-standing injustices. We must also examine ways in which our organizations can advocate meaningfully and concretely for equity and justice. It is incumbent on us to support people who work in the field by advancing the perspectives of people who have been marginalized by fostering open forums for discussion and ensuring that people of color fill leadership positions, working to dismantle the effects of structural racism in our varied professions, and taking stands against racism and racist practices when we see them. Far from being neutral, visual assets and the institutions and people that provide access to them have a great deal of power to shape and reinforce power structures. A key part of our work as visual assets and cultural heritage professionals is to address ways in which our practices must change to challenge and dismantle, rather than support or permit, white supremacy. The VRA and the VRAF call on all our colleagues to move forward with action and purpose just as we will ourselves. We implore you to reexamine your own practices and policies as individuals, as committees, and as local chapters. We, the VRA and VRAF board members, acknowledge that we need to make measurable changes in the structure of our organizations and are committed to undertake this work. VRAF Board of Directors and the VRA Executive Board Approved by the Visual Resources Association EAC (Equitable Action Committee) Donation Links: Official George Floyd Memorial Fund Black Lives Matter Black Visions Collective National Bail Fund Network or local bail funds across the US American Civil Liberties Union NAACP Legal Defense Fund We Here Resources for Self-Education: Anti-racism Resource List for White People Social Justice and Museums Resource List Anti-Racist Educational Reading & Viewing Lists Dear White People, This Is What We Want You To Do For Our White Friends Desiring to Be Allies Research-based Solutions to Stop Police Violence (Twitter thread) Articles: Maintaining Professionalism In The Age of Black Death Is….A Lot What Not to Say to Your Black Colleagues Right Now My Role in the Social Change Ecosystem 10 Books About Race To Read Instead Of Asking A Person Of Color To Explain Things To You Courses + Curriculum: Recruiting and Retaining Librarians from Underrepresented Minoritized Groups - Library Juice Course ($175) July 6 - August 2 Allyship, Anti-Oppression Practices, and Building Inclusive Libraries - Library Juice Course ($175) August 3 - August 30 Cultural Competence for Librarians - Library Juice Course ($175) September 7 - October 4 Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism–from Ferguson to Charleston VRA and VRAF: What’s the Difference? VRA established the VRA Foundation to oversee and develop grants, administer educational activities, and support community outreach projects. The missions of the two organizations are closely aligned, with a few important distinctions. VRA is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to furthering research and education in the field of media management within the educational, cultural heritage, and commercial environment; and supporting its members in every stage of their professional lives. VRAF’s mission proceeds from there to provide financial support for a broad range of educational and research efforts in the profession, including but not limited to the activities of VRA. VRA solicits donations from its members for two funds and purposes: 1) the Luraine Tansey Educational Fund, which provides travel awards to assist VRA members with conference attendance; and 2) the General Operating Fund, which primarily supports conferences and membership resources and support. VRA is a non-profit 501 (c) 6 trade association created to provide direct services to its members, while VRAF is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization serving the entire visual resources profession more broadly, regardless of VRA membership. VRAF fundraising supports educational activities (e.g. VRA Annual Con...