SI-ASB-2009: ABC No Rio


ABC No Rio 156 Rivington Street; New York, NY; 10002 www.abcnorio.org	Projects 1
ABC No Rio is a community center for the arts on Manhattan's Lower East Side. ABC No Rio was founded by artists committed to political and social engagement and we retain these values to the present. We support work that promotes critical analysis and an expanded vision of possibility for our lives and the lives of our neighborhoods, cities, and society. ABC No Rio is a place where people share resources and ideas to impact society, culture, and community in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual support. Since our founding we've been welcoming and supportive venue for thousands of emerging artists, performers, poets and musicians. Program activity at ABC No Rio breaks down into two categories: public events programming, and facilities and resources. In addition to exhibitions, public events programming at ABC No Rio includes our weekly hardcore/punk matinee; COMA, our series of experimental and improvisational music; literary readings; performance; and film & video screenings. We also provide space to other cultural and community organizations for meetings, workshops, benefits and forums. ABC No Rio resources and facilities used by artists and the community at large include our zine library, darkroom, computer center and screenprinting shop.
Participant Comments

"ABC No Rio has a collection of historic materials they are hoping to archive online. They chose Omeka for this project, and brought me in to analyze this platform for them. The software was similar to Drupal, but specifically designed for archives, museums, and libraries. It seems very useful, and will be a marketable skill to have."
Projects

ABC No Rio Archive On-Line

Intern: Adrienne Klum

Code: ABCNoRio-01

Interns
1

This request is for assistance in planning the implementation of the web platform Omeka to "publish" on-line digital files of documents relating to ABC No Rio's founding and early years. In the spring of 2008 ABC No Rio hired an archivist to implement a strategy to organize the materials in ABC No Rio's archive and prepare them for public use. Under her supervision an intern processed the materials and re-housed all in archival containers. These records include documents related to the Real Estate Show and other "founding" documents; meeting minutes and planning/production notes; publicity and promotional materials; artist files; grant requests; correspondence; financial and legal documents; and documentation of events and activity. The material encompasses the period from 1980 to 2005. We've now moved on to the digitization phase and have scanned over 400 documents relating to the Real Estate Show and ABC No Rio' early years. We have chosen the web platform Omeka to make these materials available to the public ( http://omeka.org ). Additionally we plan to use Omeka to present materials and images complementing exhibitions in our gallery space as well as other activity at ABC No Rio. We've installed Omeka on a staging server and need the assistance of a School of Information student who appreciates the importance of thoughtful and structured archives to help us test and explore Omeka and to help determine and document the approach we should use as we move forward.

Qualification: Familiarity with Omeka isn't necessarily required (though it would be a real bonus) but we do need an intern who is comfortable soliciting support in web forums and following up on responses.

The SI Alternative Spring Break is open to graduate students of the University of Michigan's School of Information. Undergraduates looking for Alternative Spring Break opportunities should look into the University of Michigan Alternative Spring Break program administered by U-M's Ginsberg Center.