Digitization of Bannick Collection Advances with New Partnerships

12/2/2021: In 2019, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation donated a unique collection of photographs, slide transparencies and photo negatives to the Hawai‘i State Archives. Hundreds of images of places and people in Hawai‘i and the Pacific Islands were included in the collection.

The estate of Nancy Bannick donated the collection to HHF in 2008.  At the time, the executors first offered the images to local archives, but none of the public archives were in a position to receive the collection.  Historic Hawai‘i Foundation agreed to accept the files that would otherwise have been discarded.

“Although HHF has some capacity to care for archival collections, it is not the organization’s core competency or purpose,” said Kiersten Faulkner, HHF executive director.  “We decided to accept the images as important records that would otherwise be lost, with the intention to transfer them to an appropriate long-term caretaker when one could be identified.  We are pleased that State Archives is now in a position to accept the donation.”

Nancy Bannick was the Hawai‘i editor for Sunset Magazine in the 1960s-1970s.  She traveled the Islands and around the Pacific taking photographs of people, places and events with a particular focus on scenic, historic, cultural and natural resources. She was a charter member of Historic Hawai‘i Foundation and extremely active in the arts and cultural organizations in Honolulu.

Bannick served as an inspirational role model to volunteers for over 50 years until her passing in February 2008.  She was known for her steadfast fight to preserve Honolulu’s historic Chinatown, the Waikīkī War Memorial Natatorium and Kapi‘olani Park.  Bannick was also a life-long champion of the arts in Hawai‘i, and was a dedicated member of the boards of directors for the Honolulu Symphony, Chamber Music Hawai‘i and Hawai‘i Public Radio.

During her lifetime, Bannick donated photographs and other items to the State Archives.  After her passing, Bannick’s estate executors told Historic Hawai‘i Foundation that she wished the remaining images to be archived and made available for research, public education and advocacy for historic preservation.

HHF donation agreement with the Archives states that the collection will be integrated with the Archives’ existing Nancy Bannick Collection.  After the accessioning process is complete, the materials will be made available to the public via the Archives’ digital library for research or other appropriate use.

DIGITIZATION PROJECT BOOSTED BY GRANT SUPPORT

In 2020, HHF applied for a Preservation and Access Grant from the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities and received funding to support the cleaning, refurbishing, scanning, and indexing of the collection, as well as public outreach to promote awareness of the resource once it becomes available.

Seeking temporary help needed to complete the project, HHF partnered with the University of Hawai‘i’s Community Design Center to hire students from the School of Architecture as interns.  In June, two interns began training to learn the labor-intensive process under the supervision of the Archives’ library technician, Clara Hur.  With an impressive amount of discipline and attention to detail, by early November Hur and the interns had finished processing nearly 3,300 slides.

Not only is the collection much larger than anticipated–over 6,000 images–a significant number of them require mold removal and housing replacement in order to prevent further deterioration and preserve them.  Temporary closures of the Archives due to the pandemic caused interruptions, prolonging the project.

Fortunately, HHF has been able to redirect some grant funding to extend the duration of the internships and thanks to the hard work and determination of the project team, the digitization should be completed next Spring.  An additional person, a longtime member of HHF and architectural historian who worked with Nancy Bannick, is expected to join the effort as a volunteer this month.

DOCUMENTARY TO ENHANCE PUBLIC OUTREACH

Promoting public awareness of the digitized collection is part two of the project. Once the entire Bannick Collection is available online, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation will initiate a communications campaign, including media coverage and a public presentation.

The presentation will include the showing of a short documentary produced by filmmaker Robin Lung of Nested Egg Productions. The video tells the story of the preservation project with the personal insight of the Archives team.

In addition, Lung has received a grant from the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to create a documentary film about Bannick and her efforts to preserve Chinatown. The film promises to increase appreciation of the collection and rekindle interest in Bannick and her larger-than-life activism. Lung seeks additional sponsors to support her work.

Bannick has left an indelible legacy through the places she helped protect.  We look forward to honoring her in the Spring of 2022 with the digitization of her work and the documentary to tell her story.

In the meantime, enjoy a sneak peek of the collection–a few gems that caught the eye of interns Connie and Kenneth.

By Beth Iwata, Director of Development, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation