ABOUT ME
Corey Barber (she/her)
MISSION
My mission is to cultivate best practices for the care and management of collections, foster accessibility to museum collections, and connect communities with museum objects and the stories they tell.
VISION
It is my vision to help heal relationships with communities that have historically been excluded from museums by centering their voices in the exhibition and interpretation of their history.
VALUES
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Accessibility
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Inclusion
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Diversity
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Collaboration
Resume
Experience Highlights
February 2021 - Present
Collections and Repatriation Specialist
FBI Art Crime Team
Indianapolis, IN
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Prepared 500+ foreign and domestic ethnographic and archaeological artifacts as well as human remains for storage, consultation, and repatriation to source communities as well as maintain storage and intellectual control of a collection of 7,000+ items.
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Conducted provenance research on objects to determine their culture of origin.
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Lead a team of 10+ graduate and undergraduate students to perform various tasks in environmental monitoring, housekeeping, object handling and packing, cataloguing, database upkeep, and research.
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Managed onsite storage facilities including security, access, environmental conditions, pest management, and safety.
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Conducted research into NAGPRA to prepare for drafting a Notice of Inventory Completion.
August 2021-Present
Collections Fellow
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
Indianapolis, IN
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Accessioned over 700 objects into the museum’s permanent collection, including creating records within PastPerfect, numbering, photographing, and creating housing for a variety of archival materials and objects.
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Photographed objects including textiles, trophies, scrapbooks, and larger archival materials to attach to the entry in PastPerfect, replacing older photographs with updated ones utilizing our new photography station.
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Assisted the Collections Manager in processing incoming and outgoing loans as well as donations including all legal and insurance documents.
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Created custom, clam shell boxes for books in need of repair from the museum’s library.
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Increased knowledge in preservation of metal objects by polishing and updating catalogue entries for various trophies, including the Wheeler-Schebler and Borg-Warner trophies.
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Edited label copy for and assisted in installation of Traditions, InFocus, and Roadsters 2 Records exhibits.
August 2021-May 2022
Community Engaged Associate (Teaching and Research Assistant)
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN
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Prepared and supervise 8 hands-on collections labs for Collections Care and Management and Preventive Conservation courses.
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Facilitated lectures, including virtual lectures via Zoom with guest speakers from around the globe.
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Prepared handouts, lab materials, lecture PowerPoint presentations, and other necessary materials prior to each class and created archival supply budget for two courses.
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Served as a mentor to students, providing additional clarification and assistance whenever needed.
July 2018- December 2018
Natural History and Cultural Collections Intern
Indiana State Museum
Indianapolis, IN
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Reorganize Documents and Manuscripts Collection including inventory development and consolidation, and rehousing 2,000+ artifacts; this project helped the Museum prepare for reaccreditation through the American Alliance of Museums prior to the AAM evaluator site visit.
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Catalogued and digitized collection of 150+ glass-plate negatives using MIMSY XG.
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Installed selection of Felrath Hines' paintings for a corporate event.
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Assisted with Hoosier Salon art exhibition de-installation, wrapped and transported paintings through the building.
Education
2022
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN
MA Museum Studies
Awarded Outstanding Graduate Student for Museum Studies Program 2022.
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Coursework in: Collections, preventive conservation, exhibits, education, community collaboration and curation, archives, administration
2018
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
BA Art History
with German minor
Indianapolis, IN
Professional skillset
Provenance research, including NAGPRA
Database management including MIMSY XG, PastPerfect, eMU, and Piction
Teamwork & Collaboration
Exhibit installation and handling of archaeological, ethnographic, and fine art objects
Languages
English (native)
German (proficient)