Ron Burch, curator of art and
architecture for the New York State
Museum, will speak on “Putting
Hindsight First: Collecting Now for the Future” on Monday, Sept. 30, at 6 p.m. in the Mandeville Gallery at the Nott
Memorial.
His talk is part of the exhibit, “Unioniana! Union College Souvenirs and Memorabilia,” which runs through Oct. 13. The exhibit contains a number of collectibles – from cups to hats and toys to prints – from Union's Special Collections.
In his talk, Burch will discuss the recent collecting of artifacts from the World Trade Center for an exhibit by the New York State
Museum, the philosophy and human
nature involved in collecting, and collecting at the museum level. He will also focus on how a curator determines what will be relevant for a collection for generations
to come.
Burch, who joined the state museum
in Albany in 1983, also was registrar
for the New York State Historical Association and the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown. He holds a master's degree in museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate
Program, and a master's in U.S. History from Duke University.