Hi Carol
Hope all is well and you are staying cool down there..HOT here today and I
was actually glad to have to come to work!?

Had not thought of this before but we funded a terrific exhibit at the Ct
Historical Society's Old State House called History is All Around Us. see
http://ctosh.org/ The show is on Ct History (and Hartford at that) but the
whole thing is based on visitor research and what interests the average Joe
about history. Not surprising history is all about me, my family, where I
live (the exhibit is a prescription for Rosenzweig and Thelen's  Presence of
the Past)...the themes could easily be translated in a universal way that
could be localized in the very best way SITES exhibits are. Guess you will
just have to come to Hartford to see it. To inquire about it you can talk to
the Director, Kate Steinway who is a friend and council member 860-236-5621
X234


Laurie Rayner
Director of Heritage Programs
Connecticut Humanities Council
955 South Main Street, Suite E
Middletown, CT 06457
T: (860) 685-3423
F: (860) 704-0429
www.ctculture.org












-----Original Message-----
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Harsh, Carol
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 7:11 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: New MoMS exhibitions

Hi all,



A few weeks ago many of you shared some ideas for topics of new MoMS
exhibitions.  There were some great ideas that we will sort of mull over and
see if we can tease out some exhibitions from them.  Several curators have
talked to us over the past few months and have presented some proposals as
well. Frankly, some are stronger than others.  But we will begin to pull
together a hand full of proposals and send them out to you later this summer
to survey the field.



In the meantime, if you have other exhibit ideas that are burning in your
brain that you didn't have time to share before, we are still eager to hear
from you.  OR, preferably if you have seen an exhibition that you think
could be adapted to be a good MoMS exhibition, please let us know about it.



Kind regards,



Carol Harsh

Co-director, Museum on Main Street

SITES



-----Original Message-----
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Harsh, Carol
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 10:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject:

Hi all,

It's time again to start thinking about the next MoMS exhibition, beyond
Journey Stories which will open in May/June 2009.  The next exhibition would
open in 2011, so we have a little time, but we need to start thinking about
the topic.

The MoMS staff has decided to throw it out to you in the Council world to
help us think about good exhibition topics.  Please think about broad themes
or ideas that you think will make a good MoMS exhibition--music or food, for
example.  As you know, its a little tricky to find a good topic, because it
needs to be a national story with a strong local connection.  It is this
local connection that really makes the difference.  Every town in every
state in the country needs to be part of the national story. It can't be too
narrow or regional.  People at the local level need to feel passionate about
it. We have found that topics are most successful that focus on Americana
and allow for celebration while also inspiring serious reflection and
sharing at the community level.

So, please give us your best ideas about topics.  Please share on the
Listserv so that others can consider your ideas.

After about two weeks we will call an end to the broad theme discussion and
try to narrow our discussion to a five or six ideas.  Then, we will task all
of you to help us find a curator and even an existing exhibition that we
could adapt to make it a MoMS story.  Several of our last few exhibitions
are sort of made from scratch, so to speak, and for staffing and financial
reasons, we feel that it is very important for this next one to draw from an
existing body of research and scholarship.

So, have at it.  Give us your best ideas!!!  We are all ears.

Kind regards,

Carol
Carol Harsh
Co-Director, Museum on Main Street
Smithsonian Institution
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 941
Washington, DC  20013-7012
202-465-5267 (cell)
202-633-5333 (office)