The latest technology in archival storage equipment will help preserve and protect fragile exhibits at Cleveland's Museum and Cultural Center at 5ive Points thanks to funding from the Tennessee State Museum.
"We are using this money to improve our archives by ordering some better storage shelving," Debra Watkins, curator of the museum in downtown Cleveland, said in a phone interview. "It's actually a really cool unit — there's some special museum tech involved. It's going to free up a lot of our storage space, so we can bring more of our storage in-house."
The funding was provided as a $50,000 grant through the General Assembly as a portion of funding for the State Museum in Nashville.
Storage is a challenge for all museums, and the new system will allow Watkins to keep exhibition material in a controlled climate where it's easy to access, she said. The museum's off-site storage is not as environmentally controlled.
The shelving system also has a high weight capacity and is mobile, so staff members can move the shelving units about to access exhibition pieces and store them, she said. The museum will also buy special storage equipment designed to preserve smaller, more delicate items such as aging paper documents and photographs.
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"We wouldn't have been able to do any of this without this grant," Watkins said.
The funds are part of a larger $5 million appropriation approved by members of the General Assembly for the Tennessee State Museum in the 2023-24 state budget, Rep. Kevin Raper, R-Cleveland, said in a statement on the grant.
"The Museum at 5ive Points tells the story of our region," Raper said. "Our community has a captivating history, and these grants will help make that story more accessible to residents and visitors."
Raper thanked the Tennessee State Museum for its work in granting funds to 5ive Points and similar organizations around the state.
The funds must be used for building and land improvements, including structural changes and renovations, according to grant requirements.
Of 170 applications totaling $12.5 million in requests, 108 museums across 58 Tennessee counties were issued a total of $5 million in full or partial awards from the State Museum, according to its executive director, Ashley Howell.
The money was made available to nonprofits or museums affiliated with government entities through the Tennessee General Assembly's 2023-24 Appropriations Act, according to the statement. Each request had a minimum of $5,000 in improvements and a maximum of $100,000. The projects covered by the grants have a completion deadline of June 30, 2024.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.