Potter College News

The Kentucky Museum has launched a new SpiritFunder campaign called “Adopt an Artifact.” With a special invitation from “Nunu,” the Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus on display in the Decorative Arts Gallery, our community is invited to make a gift and “adopt” an artifact to support future conservation and care.

“Every artifact holds a story,” stated Tiffany Isselhardt, the Museum’s Development and Marketing Manager. “But to tell those stories, we have to preserve the artifacts—and preservation isn’t easy. Each artifact has special needs, from the environment we keep it in to how it is cleaned and displayed, which the museum field calls ‘conservation.’ By adopting an artifact, the community helps ensure we can do this important work.”

To adopt an artifact, individuals donate at the suggested level of giving based on the artifact they wish to adopt. For example, a $20 donation entitles adoption of one object in the Political Memorabilia collection, while a $500 donation is required to adopt one work of quilt. These levels help ensure that greater-needs items, like quilts which tend to fade and fray, are given appropriate resources.

“Every dollar counts,” Isselhardt said. “We receive no funding from WKU for conservation efforts, and only about $2,000 a year from our collections endowments. We need much, much more if we’re going to conserve and display these artifacts, especially those that require extensive restoration. There’s a lot of factors and expertise that go into caring for one artifact—and we have 30,000.”

Through SpiritFunder, the Museum hopes to raise an initial $10,000 to kick off the adoption program. All adopters receive an adoption certificate for their artifact, and recognition on the artifact’s catalog and exhibit labels. An exhibit of adopted artifacts is scheduled for November 2019.

Donations can be made online now at https://www.givecampus.com/schools/WesternKentuckyUniversity/adopt-an-artifact

This campaign is sponsored by ServiceOne Credit Union, adopter of “Nunu” the Egyptian sarcophagus.

About Kentucky Museum

Now in our 80^th year, the Kentucky Museum celebrates all aspects of South-Central Kentucky’s art, history, and culture. “Kentuckians need to know Kentucky” was the museum’s earliest conceptual framework, which took shape in the eyes of WKU’s founding president Henry Hardin Cherry. Today, we are a steadfast educational campus partner helping to inspire innovation, elevate community, and transform the lives of our students and the community.