AMIA 2020 Award Recipients

AMIA’s Silver Light Award recognizes outstanding career achievement in moving image archiving. It recognizes substantial contributions to the field over an extended period, leadership in the field, preservation and restoration projects, innovations that advance the cause of preservation in archives and archival projects.

MONA JIMENEZ

For over three decades, Mona Jimenez has had a major impact in the areas of video preservation and the media arts, bringing audiovisual archival expertise and training to cultural organizations worldwide. As Associate Arts Professor at NYU’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation program (MIAP), she founded the Audiovisual Preservation Exchange (APEX) She initiated and developed the model for the Community Archiving Workshop, (CAW) which to date has trained hundreds of archivists, librarians, artists, and mediamakers and served over 20 cultural and community-based organizations around the world since 2010.

The William S. O’Farrell Volunteer Award recognizes significant contributions to AMIA and to the field.  The Award is named for long-time member Bill O’Farrell and honors all that Bill did for the Association, the mentoring role he played over the years to so many archivists, and his contribution to the field.

WENDY SHAY

Wendy Shay, is not only a founding member of AMIA, but in the thirty years since its founding, Wendy has been a constant part of the organization. She has been a mentor, a workshop leader, served on committees too numerous to name, founded the Community Fund Travel Grant program, served as President, and represented AMIA on the National Film Preservation Board.

The Alan Stark Award honors individuals who have made a significant contribution through their efforts on a special project or in project management that contributes to, and supports, the work of moving image archives and/or the operations of AMIA. Named for Alan Stark, the award honors Alan’s commitment to AMIA, his contributions to the preservation of moving image archives, and his belief that the work done to preserve our audiovisual heritage is strengthened by the diversity of experts working in the field.

ALISON R. REPPERT GERBER

Alison Reppert Gerber oversaw the Smithsonian’s 2016 Pan-Institutional Survey of Audiovisual Collections and the 2019 Audiovisual Preservation Readiness Assessment (AVPRA)* that included updating and expanding the survey; an evaluation of current AV preservation practices in the various units; risk for permanent AV collection loss and a prioritization system for preservation. The resulting comprehensive data was instrumental in providing unquestionable evidence for the Institution to support audiovisual preservation needs.

The AMIA Advocacy Award recognizes an individual, an organization, or a project that promotes greater public awareness, appreciation, or support of media archives or those working to preserve and provide access to media archives.   Advocacy may take the form of advocacy, publicity, legislation, or a similar action that supports archival work or raises public consciousness of the importance of archival work. Advocacy should have impact at the regional level or beyond.

DWIGHT SWANSON

For almost 20 years Dwight Swanson has advocated for the preservation and promotion of home movies as a co-creator of Home Movie Day and a founding board member of the Center for Home Movies (CHM).  In addition to spearheading the Home Movie Archive Database and the Home Movie Registry on the CHM website, his work includes Amateur Night: Home Movies from American Archives, Home Grown Movies, and an amazing worldwide 24-hour home movie event with films shown from around the world.