Behind the scenes: In the archives with Ellen Faletti | Honolulu Museum of Art
Source: https://honolulumuseum.org/stories-behind-the-scenes-in-the-archives-with-ellen-faletti-t3dc-t3dc
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:09
Behind the scenes: In the archives with Ellen Faletti | Honolulu Museum of Art
To the cookie settings
To the main content
To the footer
Story
Mon Jan 19 2026
Behind the scenes: In the archives with Ellen Faletti
A recent request to find the source of the glazed tiles in the Chinese Courtyard had HoMA Archivist Ellen Faletti going through boxes of papers from the 1920s, including correspondence between Museum founder Anna Rice Cooke and architect Bertram Goodhue. Delving into the history of the Honolulu Museum of Art, which turns 100 in 2027, is a big part of her job. She fields requests from staff, scholars, curators from other museums, among many other people conducting research.
Faletti joined the Museum in 2024 and says the archives are in good shape considering there hadn’t been an archivist on staff for three years. Because of that gap, one of her priorities is also creating and updating policies and procedures.
“How do we treat our existing records? What types of records do we keep? These are the kinds of things an archivist needs to consider,” says Faletti, who was previously at the University of Hawai‘i, where she worked as reference archivist in Hamilton Library and as the assistant archivist at the William S. Richardson School of Law. She also worked with the registrar of the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where Faletti earned her graduate degree in library and information studies.
Through exploring the HoMA archives she has learned that a high point of Museum record keeping was during the 1940s to 1960s. “We have a great record from directors, registrars, the print department—when all these different departments were taking shape,” says Faletti. Times have drastically changed since then, with the Museum daily creating ephemera that a staff member from 1950 wouldn’t have dreamed of. Faletti hopes to start a digital archive project that would include things like the Museum’s social media.
She increasingly receives requests on HoMA history in preparation for its upcoming centennial. Faletti is well prepared for the milestone—as an intern at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s archives in 2018, one of her duties was doing research for the venerable institution’s 150th anniversary. “I now have a good sense of the type of information people are interested in for a celebration like this.”
Suggested stories
Bodhisattvas and Bart Simpson: All about Tsherin Sherpa and his work
Explore Tsherin Sherpa’s journey from traditional thangka painter to global contemporary artist blending Buddhist iconography with pop culture in Divine Disruption.
Story
New jewelry line is inspired by HoMA artworks
GAMAR x HoMA collection reimagines HoMA artworks as ethically crafted gemstone jewelry, inspired by O’Keeffe, Hokusai, Guanyin, and more.
Story
The Garden Club of Honolulu wants you to “Imagine That!” May 8-10
Experience Imagine That!—the Garden Club of Honolulu’s Major Flower Show at HoMA, May 8–10, featuring stunning floral design, sustainability, and community inspiration.
Story
We have received your application. We will contact you when tickets become available.
Something went wrong. Please call to be put on the waiting list.
Added:
To wishlist
To the cookie settings
To the main content
To the footer
Story
Mon Jan 19 2026
Behind the scenes: In the archives with Ellen Faletti
A recent request to find the source of the glazed tiles in the Chinese Courtyard had HoMA Archivist Ellen Faletti going through boxes of papers from the 1920s, including correspondence between Museum founder Anna Rice Cooke and architect Bertram Goodhue. Delving into the history of the Honolulu Museum of Art, which turns 100 in 2027, is a big part of her job. She fields requests from staff, scholars, curators from other museums, among many other people conducting research.
Faletti joined the Museum in 2024 and says the archives are in good shape considering there hadn’t been an archivist on staff for three years. Because of that gap, one of her priorities is also creating and updating policies and procedures.
“How do we treat our existing records? What types of records do we keep? These are the kinds of things an archivist needs to consider,” says Faletti, who was previously at the University of Hawai‘i, where she worked as reference archivist in Hamilton Library and as the assistant archivist at the William S. Richardson School of Law. She also worked with the registrar of the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where Faletti earned her graduate degree in library and information studies.
Through exploring the HoMA archives she has learned that a high point of Museum record keeping was during the 1940s to 1960s. “We have a great record from directors, registrars, the print department—when all these different departments were taking shape,” says Faletti. Times have drastically changed since then, with the Museum daily creating ephemera that a staff member from 1950 wouldn’t have dreamed of. Faletti hopes to start a digital archive project that would include things like the Museum’s social media.
She increasingly receives requests on HoMA history in preparation for its upcoming centennial. Faletti is well prepared for the milestone—as an intern at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s archives in 2018, one of her duties was doing research for the venerable institution’s 150th anniversary. “I now have a good sense of the type of information people are interested in for a celebration like this.”
Suggested stories
Bodhisattvas and Bart Simpson: All about Tsherin Sherpa and his work
Explore Tsherin Sherpa’s journey from traditional thangka painter to global contemporary artist blending Buddhist iconography with pop culture in Divine Disruption.
Story
New jewelry line is inspired by HoMA artworks
GAMAR x HoMA collection reimagines HoMA artworks as ethically crafted gemstone jewelry, inspired by O’Keeffe, Hokusai, Guanyin, and more.
Story
The Garden Club of Honolulu wants you to “Imagine That!” May 8-10
Experience Imagine That!—the Garden Club of Honolulu’s Major Flower Show at HoMA, May 8–10, featuring stunning floral design, sustainability, and community inspiration.
Story
We have received your application. We will contact you when tickets become available.
Something went wrong. Please call to be put on the waiting list.
Added:
To wishlist