Archives Unboxed

by Beth Armstrong

 

 

What does a regional art gallery and museum do when Covid-19 derails its long-planned 90th anniversary programming? That is what happened to the Manly Art Gallery & Museum (MAG&M), a small but significant museum located in a popular beachside community near Sydney, N.S.W., Australia. MAG&M, pronounced “mag and m,” is the oldest metropolitan regional gallery in New South Wales, and sits right on the wharf of Manly Cove. Manly is a mere 11 miles, and 20-minute ferry ride, from Sydney. It is both a tourist destination and tight knit community, with famous beaches, a busy pedestrian area with shops and laid-back pubs, and a lively street party vibe. MAG&M is steps from the ferry dock and the Manly Scenic Walkway, a popular 10-kilometer coastal trail. It thrives on visits from day-trippers eager to explore Manly’s natural beauty and creative culture.

MAG&M has a small footprint, with only three galleries in a low-slung, unassuming building. While modest, the structure houses an impressive collection of Australian art, including paintings, drawings, photography, ceramics and beach ephemera (think surfboards and vintage bathing attire). The museum owns pieces by well-known Australian artists such as Margaret Preston, Thea Proctor, Will Ashton and Lloyd Rees, as well as works by aboriginal and contemporary artists. It also offers a wide assortment of cultural programs, such as films, artist meet-and-greets, live music and art classes. Funding by the Northern Beaches Council, the local government organization overseeing the area, and other sources allows MAG&M to host visitors without charging an admissions fee, and its location is a perfect escape from the Australian summer heat.

In commemoration of its June 14, 2020 birthday, MAG&M had several events planned to begin in April, centered around a special museum-wide display entitled “Treasures from the Vault: 90 years,” an exhibition featuring key highlights from its extensive collections. MAG&M also selected nine local designers to create a unique object inspired by each decade of the museum’s history, from the 1930s to the 2010s. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic left the staff scrambling when its doors abruptly closed in March.

How could they showcase their collection, including a new acquisition and unique objects from its nine designers, without visitors? The answer was both virtual and inspired. Instead of opening its special exhibition, MAG&M offered a suite of new virtual programs, including short films, “create with MAG&M” learning content, online exhibitions and digital copies of former exhibition catalogues. They also took to Instagram, using Instagram stories to showcase a work from their collection each day for 90 days. A new video was produced to highlight the Treasures from the Vault exhibition (linked below). Finally, their new acquisition, a painting of Sydney Harbour by Archibald Prize winning artist Wendy Sharpe, titled Blue Harbour, was unveiled on Facebook and Instagram on June 14th.

The most unexpected move by the staff, however, was an idea designed to bring the local population to the building. During the height of the shutdown, tourists stayed away from the ferry, leaving Manly to the Northern Beaches community. Unable to go to restaurants or shops, the locals took to the walking trails, which travel along the coast as well as around town. MAG&M, sandwiched between several popular walkways, used its large front windows to showcase works of art at night. The windows, draped during the day to protect the artwork from the sun, would open each night to reveal a new work from the Treasures from the Vault exhibition for public view. This was a calculated move to keep the locals connected to the museum.

Fortunately for MAG&M, Australia was successful in limiting the impact of Covid-19. MAG&M reopened on June 2, 2020, delaying its anniversary exhibitions by only a few months, although visitor numbers were limited by safety protocols. Their actions during those months showed that the staff has a savvy understanding of outreach in the 2020s. As stated by Director Michael Hedger, “We believe that you need to be more than just a gallery to do well, these days. It’s no longer just a passive thing. Technology is now changing so fast, that galleries need to provide a more immersive experience for the visitor and embrace all the various mediums of display.” Mr. Hedger also emphasized the importance of staying connected to the Manly community by showcasing local art. These actions should enable MAG&M to thrive in the future.

For more information about MAG&M and its virtual offerings, see the links below:

MAG&M Online

by Amanda Miano

“Paul and Hedy Strnad are trapped as the Nazis close in. Can Hedy’s dress designs and their cousin in Milwaukee help them get to the United States? All efforts failed. Hedy and Paul perished in the Holocaust, but their memory lives on in the letter and sketches which form the core of this haunting exhibit. Come and experience Hedy’s designs brought to life” (Stitching History from the Holocaust).

“Stitching History from the Holocaust,” was an exhibit on display from September 14, 2014 to March 1, 2015 at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee and is currently touring across the United States. For this unique exhibit, the Jewish Museum Milwaukee partnered with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater to create dresses based on Hedy Strnad’s designs. The museum’s goal was to do more than present Hedy and Paul’s story. Rather, “. . . completing this project for [Hedy was] a meaningful act of memorialization, as it [brought] Hedy’s talent and creativity into the current day” (UW-Milwaukee Digital Humanities Lab).

It is important, when considering the impact of this exhibit and how it promotes the museum’s vision, to understand the Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s mission statement which reads as follows: “The Jewish Museum Milwaukee is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of the Jewish people in southeastern Wisconsin and celebrating the continuum of Jewish heritage and culture. . .” (About). To fully understand how this exhibit complements the museum’s overall mission, we need to take a closer look at the Strnad’s story.

Paul Strnad wrote a letter in 1939 to his cousin, asking for help in securing an affidavit, necessary for he and his wife to escape Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Paul also sent eight of Hedy’s dress designs, as a way of proving that the couple could secure an income if they were allowed to immigrate. Sadly, the couple were imprisoned before they could secure safe passage and were eventually murdered in a concentration camp. The letter and sketches were not discovered until 1997, when the Strnad’s of Wisconsin found them in the basement of their family home. They donated the documents to the Jewish Historical Society in Milwaukee. These items became part of the Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s permanent collection when it opened in 2008.

For a museum whose focus is on “. . . preserving and presenting the history of the Jewish people in southeastern Wisconsin and celebrating the continuum of Jewish heritage and culture . . .,” it is obvious why they would want to make people aware of this couple who sought refuge with their cousins from Wisconsin (About). Furthermore, this exhibit is dedicated to celebrating the continuum of Jewish culture, in that it presents the artistic abilities of one Jewish woman who should have lived to see her creations take form.

Now it is time to consider how this exhibit has aided the museum in promoting advocacy and outreach within the larger Milwaukee community. Using the dresses as sources of inspiration, the Jewish Museum Milwaukee partnered with Arts@Large, a local arts education organization, and with Milwaukee Public Schools to allow a select group of 7^th and 8^th grade girls to take a behind the scenes look at the work that goes into costume designing. The eight girls who were chosen spent time with the staff of the Rep’s Costume Shop, where they learned more about Hedy’s dress designs and the hard work that went into designing and crafting these dresses. The girls were tasked with documenting their experience through photography and then, as a way of reflecting on all that they had learned, they were instructed to paint life-size self-portraits based on Hedy Strnad’s sketches. By allowing the girls this opportunity, the museum and Arts@Large not only gave them a space to showcase their own work (as each of their portraits were featured in an exhibition at the Arts@Large gallery), but also gave visitors the opportunity to see Hedy’s dresses worn by the next generation.

While Hedy Strnad never did get to see her dresses in all their beauty, her name will live on through her artistry. When they were fabricating her dresses, the Rep’s Costume Shop gave each piece a “Hedy Original” label, “. . . allowing her to posthumously have the fashion line taken from her by the Holocaust” (UW-Milwaukee Digital Humanities Lab). So, while the Nazis took her life, they could not erase her from the memories of those who, thanks to the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, have been able to view her beautiful creations at the “Stitching History from the Holocaust” exhibit.

by Gretta Cox Gorton

While school field trips normally consist of a chaotic litany of permission slips, long bus rides, and a brown bag lunch, fifth graders in Worcester’s public schools are having a revolutionary kind of learning experience.

Instead of students taking the usual trek to an historical site, such as Old Sturbridge Village (thirty minutes southwest of the city), to talk to reenactors stirring vats of maple syrup or fleecing wool, the reenactor comes to them. Born out of a one-man play created by former American Antiquarian Society outreach director James D. Moran, actor Neil Gustafson brings the AAS’ founder, American printer, Revolutionary, and Worcesterite Isaiah Thomas to life in the dramatic program “Isaiah Thomas – Patriot Printer”.

 

 

 

Isaiah Thomas was born in Boston in 1749, and began his lifelong career as a publisher after his mother indentured him to a printer at age 7. He would go on to famously publish the politically antagonistic Massachusetts Spy, which consistently toed the line of attracting British suppression efforts in the infancy of the American Revolution. This tension culminated in the days just before the Battle of Concord, when Thomas fled Boston for Worcester, printing presses in tow (the property he left behind was destroyed). In Worcester, his career in the printed word flourished. Beyond continuing to print and publish newspapers and books, and eventually writing a history of publishing himself, he established the first national historical society, the American Society of Antiquaries (now the American Antiquarian Society), in 1812. Well known in the publishing world, and locally as a significant historical figure, Thomas is one of the lesser known American Revolutionaries, but has nonetheless had an immense impact in the creation and dissemination of early American political values.

The program which brings 1812 Thomas into the 21st century is currently sponsored by the American Antiquarian Society and the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, and has been engaging historically minded audiences in Central Massachusetts on and off for over two decades. And while any historical society, senior center, or museum can book “Thomas” for a performance, since the Society’s bicentennial in 2012, the program has gained a very special and specific audience – Worcester’s fifth graders.

Through partnerships with the Worcester Public Schools, CultureLEAP (which offers intensive curriculum based cultural experiences to all students in a given grade), and an interactive online curriculum aid to assist educators in connecting classroom materials to Thomas’ visit, students get the rare opportunity to put down their Chromebooks and interact with a figure from the history they’re just beginning to learn about in earnest.

Dressed in 18th century garb, “Thomas” tells his life story, and introduces students to original documents from his heyday, providing direct and animate access to both local and national history. He proudly tells them about his achievements, like publicly reading the newly minted Declaration of Independence on the steps of Worcester’s City Hall, the first time it had ever been read aloud in New England.

He answers questions, in and out of character, like whether or not he had any pets, if he can take off his wig (to which he kindly proffers “you never ask a gentleman to take off his wig in public”) and what it felt like to be separated from his mother at such a young age. Acting as a piece of “living” history, Gustafson’s character provides insight into Thomas’ personal life and experience living and working during a time of incredible political upheaval. The performance demonstrates not only how different life was in 1812 (“pets” were mostly farm or working animals) but also how similar experiences like struggling for a more just and equitable society are across space and time.

Artists like Gustafson are no stranger to working with public history and its curators. Archives and cultural heritage sites are known to invite artists into their reading rooms and outreach programs as collaborative partners to create contemporary paths for visitor engagement, something artists are uniquely positioned to do. No sound or video evidence exists to document Isaiah Thomas, for obvious technological reasons so we rely on artistic renderings to embody this lost element of the historical record. Art imitates life, and in the case of “Isaiah Thomas – Patriot Printer”, art successfully engages audiences in how we connect to our shared history, specifically the people who made it (or, at the very least, printed it).

Further Reading

Information about the program and how to book “Thomas”:

https://www.americanantiquarian.org/itprogram.htm

Worcester Telegram & Gazette article about the program:

https://www.telegram.com/article/20120314/NEWS/103149867/1011

A short video of Gustafson as Isaiah Thomas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqZE83Ru8TY&t=1s

 

 

by Rebecca Johnston

Many United States citizens have become more interested in politics in the last year, spurred on by such events as the 2020 Presidential election and January 2021’s attempted capital insurrection. Because of these new conversations around civic engagement, many cultural heritage institutions are weighing in and promoting their own collections and interpretations. To increase civic engagement and knowledge within the city of Pittsburgh and beyond, the Senator John Heinz History Center launched the America 101 initiative in October 2020. This wide-ranging proposal includes events hosted by the History Center, the formation of a coalition with civic and history organizations across the country, and the development of two mobile applications. The History Center’s goal is that by 2026, the citizens of Western Pennsylvania will know more about American history and demonstrate this knowledge by passing the history and civics portion of the U.S. citizenship test. The motivation for this proposal was in part the passage of Act 35 in Pennsylvania, mandating that all middle and high schools test their students on the “history, government, and civics” of the United States.

As an online viewer, this project includes quite a few items of interest, although I will focus on only one in detail here: the History Center’s development of two free mobile apps, Citizen You and America 101. After downloading both, I can attest that they are both appealing in different ways. Citizen You “gamifies” civic engagement and service in day to day life. Choosing from a wide variety of activities, users can earn points in return for making a positive impact in their communities, including voting, volunteering, and connecting with others. In order to reinforce this behavior, Citizen You encourages you to connect with other users and see how they are being good citizens. Clearly, this app targets members of the public interested in social media, and there has been some success because users are choosing to participate. Meanwhile, America 101 focuses on the collections within the History Center; available through the GuidiGo, the app leads users through exhibits at the History Center and challenges them to engage by answering questions and photographing specific items. Directed toward younger users, this app also awards points. Unfortunately, neither Citizen You nor America 101 have received reviews by users, so it is difficult to tell how the apps are being received.

While these apps present interesting opportunities, I think it is worth noting some potential issues with the cohesiveness and impact of this project. For example, the development and implementation of America 101 involved a number of different departments—including Marketing and Communications, the Library and Archives, and IT, at the very least—but the project seems to be fairly decentralized, with each department taking part in different activities. This makes me wonder what the experience of this initiative would be like on the ground—whether it would be difficult to carry the themes of the initiative throughout an experience at the History Center, making it less impactful overall. Furthermore, outside of the History Center’s website, there does not seem to be much publicity about the initiative as a whole. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette has not reported on it, and the History Center’s Twitter makes only a few mentions of minor events associated with the initiative.

I originally chose the America 101 initiative because I was so impressed with all that the project entailed, as well as its mission in general: I also think it is important to promote civic education and engagement. And as many of our course readings have pointed out, our role as cultural heritage professionals is to engage in social justice work, whether it be in what we collect or what we display (see Jimerson’s “Archives for All”, Through the Archival Looking Glass). According to the History Center, it is “committed to telling the American story and inspiring a community of citizens to explore what it means to be an American.” This initiative clearly falls in line with those goals, but there did seem to be some gaps or disconnect in implementation. With the whole of Western Pennsylvania as the intended audience, it is difficult to specifically engage with groups and make an impact, and while the timeline of 2026 gives some breathing room to make progress, it also seems like there is not currently enough advertising or public awareness to promote this project. America 101 provides an excellent opportunity for outreach, especially to students, but it has not yet made the impact that could be possible.

by Rose Dionne

Online may not be the word that springs to mind when one thinks of the State of Maine, but maybe it should be. Maine Memory Network is an online archival resource sharing network created by Maine Historical Society that currently works in partnership with almost three hundred other cultural heritage organizations all over the state of Maine. This project’s mission is to digitize Maine’s history, have a place to share the collections related to it and provide context through essays, digital exhibits and educational resources. These resources can be easily accessed by the public and also cultural heritage professionals at other institutions in the area, creating a more connected understanding of local history that is based on more widely distributed resources than any one institution has access to.

Maine Memory Network was launched in 2006, with 10,000 records contributed by 160 organizations. Today there are over 45,000, resources dating from ancient archeological findings from the many Native Americans that have called this place home, plenty of 19^th century photographs of a flourishing trolley system, and prominent citizens, to digital photographs from the 2000s of mill towns going through downtown revitalizations, and oral histories told by people who have spent their whole lives in Maine. With this range of collected materials there is something for almost everyone, and every project. It is also an active website with many of the newest exhibits focused on Maine’s recent bicentennial, which is an event that Maine Historical has been taking the lead in commemorating.  While Maine Memory is certainly not a comprehensive resource of all the archived material that exists in the hundreds of archives, libraries, museums and historical societies, all over the state, (Maine Historical notes that only 1% of their collections are available on Maine Memory Network) it’s strengths lie in the specific resources aimed at teachers or anyone curious about history. While this site is not really aimed what might be considered the traditional archival audience, the fact that much of the material is curated into exhibits and lesson plans that are aimed educators, young students or average people makes it a great advocacy tool. Teaching young people that these resources are out there is important for creating a generation of people who will use and advocate for archives.

Another element of archival outreach that this project accomplishes is towards local institutions. While 50% of the Network’s resources come directly from Maine Historical Society, that means that half are from those other cultural heritage organizations. Many of the organizations that share their resources on this platform are small historical societies and local libraries that may not have the funding or resources to create and maintain their own public digital collections database. By giving them a place to share those collections Maine Memory Network creates an online presence and public access to the materials specifically, but that also leads to a larger audience. If three hundred different organizations are directing collections material and people to one website that creates both a wide-ranging collection, and wide-ranging audience.

Sharing resources in the chronically underfunded cultural heritage field is a fantastic practice that can expand access to collections, access to well curated information and create a larger audience than any one organization can reach. As an outreach project this network reaches cultural heritage organizations that can expand the network, and people who might not otherwise work with archival resources regularly. Maine Memory Network brings an awareness and appreciation of history, that all arc

by Jorie Thuon

The Keeler Tavern Museum is a historic home and museum located in the town center of Ridgefield, CT. Once a farmhouse, tavern, stagecoach stop, post office, hotel, and home to famous architect Cass Gilbert, the house has a long and rich history as well as a strong connection to the local community as demonstrated by its tireless outreach efforts, including through school programs, exhibits, and events. These outreach efforts and more are outlined in the museum’s newly updated website, which serves as an introduction for new visitors or those limited by travel constrictions by focusing on the tavern’s importance, history, physical and electronic collection, and various social events.

Upon entering the website, the visitor is greeted first by an enthusiastic description of the museum and its history accompanied by photos of highlighted events; in this case, the museum’s newly minted digital learning programs and an upcoming village exhibition. A bright red banner across the top of the homepage draws attention to the museum’s most recent advocacy efforts, including funding they’ve secured to make improvements to their collection and grounds. This flashy display serves the dual purpose of allowing the visitor to see the museum’s growth and to publicly acknowledge those who made the growth possible.

The search bar divides the website into ten separate tabs, each with subdivisions. These tabs break up the mass of information given on the website into different areas of use. The visit tab, for example, appeals to in-person visitors by providing information about hours of admission, walking tours, and local attractions while the education tab appeals to educators, guardians of young children, and those searching for professional development workshops. Bulkier than the others, the history & research tab directs researchers and those interested in exploring the museum’s collection to search through the archive and its large electronic database.

Although Keeler Tavern Museum is, at its core, a historical attraction, the website also promotes the social events hosted by the museum and gives information on how different parts of the campus, such as the garden house, can be rented out for weddings and corporate events. In this way, the website serves not only to advertise the historic site but also those attractions which support and fund it.

 

This trend of self-advocacy continues throughout the website as constant attention is placed on the role of the museum in the community, its long history, and even its economic impact on the town, state, and country. The support tab, headed by a paragraph describing the importance of funding to the museum’s running and accompanied by scrolling pictures of education events, serves to garner an effective emotional plea to visitors while simultaneously collecting donation information into one place. In addition to the support section, volunteer and collection donation descriptions are scattered throughout the site and links to donate resources pop up at various points while exploring.

Museum websites are constantly evolving objects and the Keeler Tavern’s online platform is no different as is made clear by the abundance of pandemic news present throughout the site. Rather than condense their response into a single announcement, however, the museum has made a great effort to insert relevant information into the already existing tabs as well as developing explanations for newly implemented programs, such as the digital learning programs for K-8 students. These explanations are often lengthy, however, and can become overwhelming for the visitor by making it difficult to sort out important information.

Beyond the main website, the museum has made an effort to highlight their mailing list, social media outreach, and trip advisor accounts in order to stay connected with their patrons on all platforms. Additionally, a link to Destination Ridgefield, a website showcasing the town’s culture and destinations, and a description of the locally famous Battle of Ridgefield serve to further ground them in the surrounding community and into their visitors’ lives.

Further Reading

Keeler Tavern Museum: https://keelertavernmuseum.org

Destination Ridgefield: https://www.destinationridgefield.com

 

by Smith Umland

Harvard Business School’s Baker Library Special Collections always takes full advantage of its spot just inside the front door of the library with its exhibitions and it’s no different with Photography and Corporate Public Relations: The Case of U.S. Steel, 1930-1960. The exhibition stands in the front lobby, which is visible from both front and back entrances and the vibrant blues and golden yellow accents of the backlit stanchions and displays catches the eye no matter which door you step in. Four stands in the corners of the room and a table by the front door hold 40-page booklets designed to accompany the exhibition, full of background information, contributions from the director of Special Collections, Laura Linard, and the guest curator, Melissa Banta, and high quality photographs of the pieces shown in the exhibition. Even this initial introduction shows the resources the department has available and how much has gone into this collection, it’s maintenance, and now it’s exhibition.

Eight glass cases stand on either side of backlit displays that organize the exhibition into eight themes that are based on the various public relations strategies that the steel industry took during this time period. Once in the center of these displays, a look to either side shows there are two additional rooms with the broader themes of “Public Relations and U.S. Steel” on one side and “Corporate Commissions and Industrial Photography” on the other. The exhibit’s structure allows anyone to walk into any of the three sections and be able to begin to move through the exhibition from exactly where they are. Unfortunately the stanchions and structure of the exhibition don’t direct you to the reading room of the Special Collections, which is on one side of the front lobby just past the front door. The focus is on the objects themselves, as a way of showing what the archives collect, how it is relevant to Harvard Business School, and how large their collection is. The exhibition displays high quality photographs, original advertisements and marketing materials, books of photography that were released to the public, internal communication and records, and even a video.

It’s clear that this exhibition is designed to capture not only the gaze of students, faculty, and staff who move through the building, but also tourists, who can actually catch a weekly tour of the building starting near the reading room’s entrance. These people can see, first, that the Business School Archives holds amazing collections, but second that the archives support the mission of the Business School by collecting records having to do with one of the largest industries in the U.S. The first aspect might be geared more towards the public in general, but the second one is most certainly geared towards students and faculty, who are there specifically to do research on business and economics. In this way the Special Collections engage with more traditional users, while also demonstrating their value and power of and to not only the Business School, but Harvard overall, as they show just how much Harvard has in terms of collection size, financial value, and research value. This exhibition is a vibrant way to introduce whoever might come to the Baker Library to a small sample of what this archives can provide. It’s clear from the images of further records (such as individual pages from larger books or photographs and advertisements) not on display that this collection is so much larger than what is shown, and works to pull visitors in to not only everything this collection can offer, but also everything the archives can offer, especially in terms of powerful and U.S.-shaping corporations. This is exactly what visitors to the Business School are looking for, whether the public or faculty, staff, or students. It’s clear the department is aware of this and this exhibition is an excellent demonstration of that.