The Board of Trustees has approved a policy and procedures policy for the University Art Collection. The purpose of the University of Southern Indiana Art Collection is to promote and advance knowledge of visual art for members of the University community and the surrounding region. The mission of the University of Southern Indiana Art Collection is to provide educational and aesthetic experiences for members of the University community and the surrounding region through the exhibition, research, and preservation of original works of art.
The University Art Collection acquires objects of aesthetic expression such as fine art paintings, drawings, prints, photography, film, video and sculpture as well as ceramics, textile, glass, wood and metal works. Future additions or accessions to the University Art Collection will be based upon the ability of the University, under the direction of the Art Collection Registrar and University Art Collection Committee, to properly maintain and exhibit, when appropriate, the works of art, given limited exhibition and storage space. In order to maintain the integrity of the Collection and its educational mission, all the additions to the Collection are to be restricted to works of high aesthetic merit.
The purview of the University Art Collection Committee is limited to works of art. It is acknowledged that the University owns and maintains other collections such as Historic New Harmony’s collection of documents and artifacts, special document collections in the Rice Library archives, archeological collections, and scientific collections held by various departments within the Colleges. The policies of the Art Collection have no jurisdiction over other collections.
The removal or deaccession of artwork from the University Collection must be proposed by the Art Collection Registrar and reviewed by the Art Collection Committee in accordance with University Art Collection procedures. All loans of works from the University Art Collection must be proposed by the Art Collection Registrar and reviewed by the Art Collection Committee in accordance with University Art Collection procedures. A complete copy of the Art Collection Accessions, Deaccessions, and Loans Policy, which contains a statement of principles and outlines policies and procedures regarding acquisitions, loans, gifts and bequests, copyright issues, and other topics, can be obtained by contacting the Government Relations Office.