Greetings from the HBCU Digital Art Project (H-DAP) Team! Thank you for completing this "20 Questions" Survey that is designed to provide a high-level overview of each HBCU's Art Collection. We have also included a few preliminary questions to obtain identification information about each HBCU institution and the composite of your work team.
Your feedback is essential as we embark upon the creation process for America’s HBCU Digital Art Project, otherwise known as H-DAP. This groundbreaking technology-based art history project has a threefold purpose to: 1) provide digital access to select works of art from HBCU Art Collections nationwide; 2) correct the omission of Black artists from the American art canon by bringing to light the rich artworks that have been stewarded by the HBCUs since the 1800s; and 3) create opportunities for African Diaspora artists by including works by those who identify as African, African American, Caribbean, Latinx, and American Indian.
H-DAP will produce three significant deliverables for research, education, and cultural enrichment:
Phase I: A Digital HBCU Art Collections Directory designed to provide a high-level overview of each collection’s characteristics. After being permissioned by the HBCU President, collection managers will be invited to complete a "20 Questions" Survey and this data will be summarized in the Directory. Directory Completion Date: June 2026
Phase II: An HBCU Art Collections Searchable Database. ~100 digital images from each HBCU will be provided at the institution's discretion, in order to provide a sample of each collection’s contents. Database Completion Date: 2030
Phase III: Education & Research Materials designed to educate H-DAP’s three target audiences: 1) Academic Institutions (K-12 through higher ed), 2) Non-profit organizations, museums, and appraiser associations, and 3) Corporate America Workforce Diversity & Training Initiatives. Materials will be made available beginning June 2026
Once H-DAP is implemented, partially developed and marginalized American art history will be made more complete. For this reason, it is essential that we seek out, discover and integrate works from HBCU Art Collections nationwide into America’s Art canon starting today. Thanks again for your responses as they are critical to help bring this project to fruition for your HBCU institution.
Section 1: Identification Information: HBCU Institution and President
Section 2: Identification Information: Art Collection Point of Contact
Section 3: Identification Information: HBCU Art Collection
Section 4: "20 Questions" Survey
- Art Collection Purpose, Mission Statement, and Education
- Art Collection Statistics
- Art Collection Classification of Artists and Artwork
- Art Collection Preservation and Risk Management