Hello all! I will start
out by saying that Virginia is inundated with Civil War everything—not just
during the anniversary years, but all the time. That said, it is what
brings people here, and I would be interested in an exhibit that explores the
War from a new perspective…not something that has been overdone
before. You might take a look at the American Civil War Center’s
exhibits here in Richmond for ideas. I think they do a splendid job of highlighting
elements of the war that most museums don’t.
So I think Virginia would be
interested, and I don’t think it would need to open in 2011.
That said, please pray that our
state’s humanities council (which helps us bring these exhibits to
Virginia) will survive the upcoming budget bill. They are slated, along
with our state commission for the arts, to be totally eliminated. This,
of course, would make any future MOMS exhibit here impossible.
Jennifer
Jennifer Weiskotten Thomas
Program Director
Virginia Association of Museums
804-788-5823
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From: Museum on Main
Street [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Harsh, Carol
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2010 4:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: New MoMS exhibition ideas
Dear MoMS family and friends,
We are exploring some ideas for the next MoMS exhibition and want to get some
quick feedback in preparation for a meeting on March 17 with some curators at
the National Museum of American History and the National Portrait Gallery.
There was a lot of talk at the Federation Conference about
the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Civil War. We are
exploring the possibility of developing an exhibition on the Civil War
Homefront. This is something that we discussed with quite a few folks at
the conference and heard resounding support. Since you have hosted
MoMS exhibitions in the past you have a good feel for potential interest among
the host communities, so we are interested in knowing your reaction to this
idea, too.
So, I have three questions:
(1)
Are you interested in a MoMS exhibition centered on the
homefront during the Civil War?
(2)
If we were to do such an exhibition is it crucial that
it open in the anniversary year—2011; or could it open later, maybe
Fall 2012 or Spring 2013?
(3)
Do you think programs about the Civil War would only be
popular in the anniversary years from 2011 to 2015, or is there generally an
interest in the topic?
We have been hearing about a lot of programming planned
around the anniversary year. Please let us know at your earliest
convenience if you think your council would be interested in hosting a MoMS
exhibition on the subject.
All the best,
Carol
Carol
G. Harsh
Director,
Museum on Main Street
Smithsonian
Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
P.O.
Box 37012, MRC 941
Washington,
DC 20013-7012
202-633-5333
202-465-5267
(cell)