2. Research Guides

Vanderbilt University/NMAAM Collections Initiative: Recent Acquisitions

Collections Initiative Purchases:

FY 2025:
FY 2024:
FY 2023:
  • Andre LeRoy Davis Hip-Hop Collection, MSS. 1071 - A collection featuring eight fine art prints with illustrations from the artist. Six of the illustrations were published in The Source between 1994 and 2003 in Davis' editorial column "The Last Word." The illustrations address issues of politics, culture, and justice through the lens of hip-hop and show why Davis is considered the father of hip-hop comics. 
  • Cécile McLorin Salvant Artworks - A collection of five artworks surrounding the themes of McLorin Salvant's jazz compositions. The five pieces housed in the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery are Dream 811, Instead of Mnemonic Rituals, Maximalism, and one untitled piece from 2019. 
  • The Dom Flemons American Songster Collection, MSS.1062 - Musical instruments, research materials, correspondence, memorabilia, and audiovisual materials documenting the career of Dom Flemons, noted researcher and Grammy Award-winning performer of American Roots music.
  • Carl Van Vechten Photographic Portrait Collection, MSS. 1061 - A collection of thirty-one portraits of Harlem Renaissance figures taken by author and noted photographer Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964).
FY 2022:
  • Otha Turner Collection, MSS.1051 - Papers, photographs, and audiovisual materials documenting the life and artistry of Othar (Otha) Turner (1907-2003), an African American fife and drum musician and collaborator with the Tennessee Dance Theatre.
  • Hip Hop Concert Poster Collection, MSS.1050 - A small collection of concert posters and photographs dating primarily from the 1980s and 1990s. The collection includes photographs of Biz Markie and Shock G (aka "Humpty"), and posters for Eddie Ed, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, and Earth, Wind, & Fire.
  • Yusef Abdul Lateef Papers, MSS.1034 - the musical manuscripts, papers, photographs, and selected artworks of noted musician, educator, composer, author, and visual artist Yusef A. Lateef. Lateef was a genre-bending musician and composer whose artistry crossed and combined multiple genres, including Middle Eastern and Asian music, American jazz, and classical. 
    • Access to audiovisual recordings for this collection is provided via Aviary. The metadata for items in this collection is available to the public, but access to media files is restricted to Vanderbilt University faculty, staff, and students. Researchers can request access to individual files directly from Aviary.
FY2021:
  • The John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie Collection, MSS.1000M - a rich collection of photographs, scrapbooks, and personal records that document the life and career of Dizzy Gillespie. A major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz, Gillespie was a trumpet player, composer, band leader, composer, and educator. Of particular note are the scrapbooks compiled by Gillespie during his groundbreaking 1956 State Department tour of the Middle East.
    • Access to audiovisual recordings for this collection is provided via Aviary. The metadata for items in this collection is available to the public, but access to media files is restricted to Vanderbilt University faculty, staff, and students. Researchers can request access to individual files directly from Aviary.
  • Janet Jackson Memorabilia Collection, MSS.1023 - Rhythm Nation Tour Stage Worn Coat, custom made by Richard Tyler, 1990.
  • Rissi Palmer Collection, MSS.1026 - Rissi Palmer is a groundbreaking country singer-songwriter who amplifies Black, Brown, and Indigenous voices in country music through her Color Me Country streaming program on Apple Music Country. Palmer's papers include six songwriting notebooks that span her career and several outfits, including the dress that she wore onstage during her premiere at the Grand Ole Opry in 2007.