Americana Insights, a new nonprofit e-journal and multi-faceted resource center, was launched today by Jane Katcher, Americana and American folk art collector, in collaboration with David A. Schorsch, a leading authority on American antiques and folk art. The digital publication is supported by a distinguished advisory board of museum and art-world professionals and edited by independent scholar, author, and curator Robert Shaw.
Through richly illustrated content in both short-form and essays, Americana Insights aims to inspire, extend, and enhance appreciation and knowledge of traditional American folk art and Americana from the Colonial era to the early 20th century. It is designed to engage new and longtime collectors, students, scholars, curators, writers, art and American history enthusiasts, and the general public, among other audiences. The publication maintains relationships and affiliations with scholars and institutions whose activities align with its mission.
Free access is provided commercial-free to make new research and related information widely available. The site also offers information about exhibitions, symposia, and special events across the country presenting and interpreting this material. Further, a widget feature provides enhanced accessibility in compliance with ADA guidelines for websites. All the essays are presented in both scrolling and book view formats, and printable pdfs of the scrolling pages will soon be added to the site.
Americana Insights benefits from the guidance of an advisory board that includes some of the top scholars in the field from eminent institutions including: The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum at Colonial Williamsburg, Fenimore Art Museum, Historic Deerfield, Historic Trappe, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon, Chipstone Foundation, Winterthur Museum, and Yale University Art Gallery. The website also offers links to 175 museums, heritage centers, historical societies, libraries, and historic sites with collections of American folk art, decorative arts, Americana, and/or related archival material.
Website: americanainsights.org
