The CSA Angels Project, which first took place in 2006, supports a deserving collection located in or near the host city of that year’s CSA National Symposium. The site is selected by the Angels Project leadership, who work with those at the collection to develop a workable plan for a one-day intensive project that meets the collection’s most pressing needs. Donations of supplies are solicited from the museum industry, and the CSA Endowment purchases small equipment and supplies worth up to $2,500 for the chosen site. Staff and volunteers of the collection are provided with basic training in museum standards of care for costume and accessories collections, and CSA members volunteer to provide expertise and additional human resources to document, catalogue, photograph, label, and store objects from the textile and costume collection. If needed, conservation treatment will also be provided on premises.
Supporters of the institution generally help by providing food, overnight accommodation and travel to and from the symposium hotel for the CSA team. This grant does not permit an “overhead” or “operational cut” that many colleges and universities typically take from grant funds they receive. One Angels Project grant is awarded each year.
Click here to watch an interview with Martha Winslow Grimm, in which she relates the origins and logistics of the Angels Project.
The CSA Angels Project is a one-day event, held each year near the site of the CSA National Symposium, which provides conservation, storage and curatorial assistance to a costume collection at a small institution. The project also affords CSA members who volunteer the opportunity to acquire and practice collection care, management skills, and to work in a team with other CSA members to help preserve a deserving costume collection.
The Angels hard at work at the Heritage Museum of Layton in Layton, Utah, in 2023
The CSA 2024 Angels Project is going to the Howard County Historical Society in Ellicott City, Maryland. It is the primary private repository of historical records and artifacts related to Howard County’s rich history. The “textile” collection contains dresses, military uniforms, jewelry, quilts, flags, and banners—all belonging to former residents of Howard County. The collection, three staff members, three docents, and volunteers will benefit from the knowledge and efforts of the Angels as well as support from the CSA endowment and conservation supply houses.
To maximize our time helping at the museum, on Monday, May 20th we will meet at the conference hotel in Washington, DC in the late afternoon and then travel to Maryland to stay close to the museum. Transportation to Maryland will be provided. We are currently working to identify a hotel so that volunteers can make their reservations for Monday night in Maryland.
If you are interested in joining fellow CSA members in this nineteenth Angels Project, contact Jennifer (Jenny) Tracz, 816-550-9329, fairislepres@gmail.com.
Applications for the 2025 Angels Project will open in the summer of 2024. Applying institutions must be located in the area of Los Angeles, California.
Institutions applying for a grant must meet the following requirements:
A CSA Angels Project Grant is intended to make a dramatic beneficial impact on the receiving institution’s costume collection. Applications will be evaluated on:
A complete application must be uploaded as one (1) pdf file under 100 MB using an online submission form (available in the summer of 2024) and include the following documents in listed order:
The application deadline is October 15, 2024. Receipt of applications will be acknowledged within one week. Qualified applicants will be notified after December 15, 2024. After that date, there will be a virtual visit before a recipient is chosen by the Angels Project Leadership Committee.
Recipient must publicly acknowledge CSA in all lectures, publications, publicity pertaining to the award.
The grant committee will review the applications and select a short list of candidates. Institutions may be asked to clarify or refine their applications if necessary, working with the grant committee to ensure their applications if necessary, working with the grant committee to ensure their proposed project is feasible, conservationally sound and meets the collection’s most pressing needs. An onsite visit is conducted when possible. A final evaluation will then be done and the grant committee will select the grant recipient.
The Angel Project leadership will report to the Board the accomplished work.
Volunteering to help is a great way to meet other CSA members and work with them as part of a team. We hope you’ll join us for our next Angels Project. If you are interested, please contact Project Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer Tracz.
Heritage Museum of Layton
Layton, Utah
Weeksville Heritage Center
Brooklyn, New York
The Ukrainian Museum-Archives
Cleveland, OH
The Heritage Museum
Seguin, TX
Historical Society of Baltimore County
Cockeysville, MD
Hoover Dam / Boulder City Museum
Boulder City, NV
Rebecca Maud Owens Costume Collection
Kansas City, MO
Jackson Barracks Military Museum
New Orleans, LA
Ramona Pioneer Historical Society at the Guy B. Woodward Museum
Ramona, CA
Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House
Stonington Connecticut Historical Society
Stonington, CT
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