Untold Stories

I am founder and project director of Untold Stories, a non-profit organization that sought to center Black, Indigenous and People of color (BIPOC) voices working in the preservation of cultural heritage. Our work expanded the ethical framework for art conservation by recognizing and conserving a broader range of cultural heritages; embracing a more diverse set of conservation practices and practitioners; and affirming the deep emotional connection between objects and sites of cultural heritage and the communities that claim them.

Beginning in 2018, Untold Stories hosted a series of conversations including “Storytelling as Preservation” (2018), “Indigenous Futures and Collaborative Conservation” (2019) and “Preserving Cultural Landscapes” (2020). In 2021, Untold Stories shifted focus from producing regular events to developing longterm, community-centered, collaborative strategic plans for more distributed and inclusive practices for the care of cultural heritage.

Having achieved its aim to begin conversations around these issues, Untold Stories is no longer active as of March 2024.