Joan Hostetler
“I am profoundly grateful that the Arts Council selected me to receive this generous gift of money and time. Indianapolis is so lucky to have this program and when I told other workshop attendees that I was there as a Creative Renewal Arts Fellow, they repeatedly expressed the wish that their cities had the same program.”
As a photograph preservation specialist, Joan spends a lot of her time by herself quietly working; diligently flattening curled panoramic photographs, meticulously repairing split daguerreotype cases, and bringing life and love to photographs of old. Having studied photography at Herron School of Art and Design, she felt fortunate to create her Master of Fine Arts in Imaging Arts from Rochester Institute of Technology by blending photograph conservation, archives management, photo history, and digital imaging. Because of this blended study, she has had diversified experience and opportunities in her work.
For her renewal, Joan wanted to connect with other professionals in her field, advance her expert skills by taking workshops, and organize photo salons. She was accepted to and attended a variety of workshops focused on preservation of older photographic types as well as best practices for archiving digital work including a shadowing experience with the Library of Congress, a seminar at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and a workshop at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. All were extremely elite opportunities and Joan was invigorated by the excitement of the workshops and connecting with like-minded people. She spent extra time at museums in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Rochester, and Louisville. The renewal also provided Joan the time to bring to life The Indiana Album, an online photographic project.
Owner, Heritage Photo & Research Services
Founding Director, The Indiana Album Speaker and workshop presenter at libraries, archives, and museums on topics including photograph preservation, archival management, and digital imaging
