Greetings to all from Jane at MN Humanities Commission--

Just wanted to say that there's great interest in our state in the
material culture/social history of cemeteries & funerary art &
conventions.  MHC is funding a symposium this summer on cemeteries
("Communities of Memory"), that's generating a huge amount of interest
from both the scholarly and 'lay' community.  David, if you're looking
for some academics and institutions interested in this area, please let
me know.


Jane Cunningham, Director
Grants and Community Programs
Minnesota Humanities Commission
987 E. Ivy Ave.
Saint Paul, MN  55106
651-772-4249
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www.minnesotahumanities.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Marcia W Britton
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 9:33 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: New MoMS exhibitions

And don't forget the serious issues associated with rivers as per the
seven-state NEH Colorado River exhibition/program project led by Dan
Schilling at the AHC.  Nice idea, Martha!
Marcia

-----Original Message-----
From: Martha D. Beck [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 8:17 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: New MoMS exhibitions

Hello, all--

I like the idea of Rivers as an exhibit theme. Rivers cross-cross the
country, and they tell stories related to transportation history,
commerce, and geology/earth science/ecology. There is also a rich store
of literature, music, and folklore related to rivers. Metaphorically and
practically, they connect us to one another. They suggest escape,
adventure, connection, exploration, inspiration, letting go. Taking care
of rivers is one important thread of contemporary environmental
activity. A theme like "Rivers and Streams" or "Rivers and Roads" could
make the subject bigger, either going in the "waters" direction or the
"byways" direction.

American Roads isn't a bad idea either. (American Routes? Too close to
Roots?)

Martha



Martha Davis Beck
Program Officer, Grants and Community Programs MN Humanities Commission
987 East Ivy Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55106-2046
(651) 772-4245
[log in to unmask]
www.minnesotahumanities.org
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of David Morgan
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 8:48 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: New MoMS exhibitions

I am reminded that our Between Fences scholar, Dr. Luther Brown, had
suggested cemeteries as and exhibit theme. I think he may be on to
something.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum on Main Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Carol Harsh
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 7:08 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: New MoMS exhibitions

Hi all,

As you know MoMS is launching the tour of Between Fences in September
2005
and New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music in March 2007.  The
MoMS staff is starting to think beyond these two exhibitions to yet
another new MoMS exhibition that will begin traveling in 2009.

We would love to hear from you regarding exhibitions that you have seen,
or possibly that your council helped to develop, that you feel could be
adapted to make a great MoMS exhibition.

A good MoMS exhibition is one that has a national focus but that
inspires locally developed programs that are focused on local history
and culture.
The exhibition needs to be thematic in approach and draw upon a variety
of humanities disciplines. It needs to be limited security so that we
can travel it to small museums and libraries, and therefore can't
involve rare collections or artifacts. The topic needs to have a broad
appeal, and preferably inspire a passionate reaction at the local level
as we have seen with barns and food.

Please send your comments and suggestions to me by June 1. Robbie and I
will follow up with curators and explore the viability of the topics.
In
addition to any ideas we get from you, we are currently developing a
handful of other exhibition proposals on a variety of topics.

Our plan is to distribute a slate of exhibition proposals to you on
August 1, 2005, and ask you to rank and rate them as to which ones might
make a good MoMS exhibition tour in your state.  Surveys will need to be
returned to us by mid September so that we can make the final
determination and announce the decision at the Federation's National
Humanities Conference.

Please remember that a lot of factors come into play in determining
which exhibition ideas are appropriate for MoMS.  We value your input
and appreciate your understanding that the MoMS team is working hard to
make sure that only the best and most viable exhibition topics are
presented to you for your consideration.

I am looking forward to your good ideas!

Carol

Carol Harsh
Co-Director
Museum on Main Street
Smithsonian Institution, SITES
(202)357-1760
(202)465-5267 (cell)
[log in to unmask]