Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service's Blog

SITES Remembers Civil Rights Leader

In her own words, SITES director of scheduling and exhibitor relations Michelle Torres-Carmona recounts a meeting with civil rights activist Johnnie Carr in Montgomery, Alabama.

"One of the most rewarding aspects of my job at SITES is attending exhibition openings. I was reminded of this when I learned Mrs. Johnnie Carr had passed. Up until her death, Mrs. Carr was the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, a position she held since 1967, after the previous president, Dr. Martin Luther King moved on to a lead a national movement. I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Carr in December 2005, during the opening of 381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story at the Alabama State Capitol.

There were multiple events taking place in Montgomery that week--the 50^th anniversary of a milestone in our country’s history. While my visit was filled with many wonderful memories, too many to share in a blog entry, one moment truly stood out. It included a conversation with Mrs. Carr, Dr. Joseph Lowery, and Congressman John Lewis (also in Montgomery to take part in the activities). These three icons of the civil rights movement were waiting to tape an episode of the Tavis Smiley Show. Before they went on, they began to talk about their friend, Martin. I looked at Lori Yarrish, deputy director of SITES, because at that precise moment, we felt so honored to be listening to this conversation.

To the world, he was Dr. Martin Luther King, but to Mrs. Carr, he was simply "Martin." She talked about his sense of humor; she even recounted a few jokes, noting Martin could be quite the jokester. Given his iconic status, we sometimes forget Dr. King was also a human being. It was truly a special moment, Lori and I were both struck at the clarity of Mrs. Carr’s memory as she talked about Dr. King. She was, after all, ninety-four years young.

We will forever remember Mrs. Johnnie Carr. Her sacrifices and contributions have given African American women and all Americans so many opportunities today. Thank you my freedom sister."

Picture Puzzle Key

Who Are We?

SITES is always mixing things up, making them fresh and surprising. Four brand new SITES exhibitions offer you a new look at some very familiar faces.

Can you name them? Check your feed tomorrow for the answer!

Brand New Exhibition Tackles Race Issues

A conversation with Gabrielle Tayac, curator of IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas, a new exhibition from the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and the National Museum of African American History and Culture:

Q. Tell us a bit about your background.
A. In professional terms, I have a Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University, specializing in historical approaches to identity issues in indigenous societies. I also come out of a long-term commitment to human rights, working with groups like Amnesty International and Survival International. In personal terms, I am enrolled in the Piscataway Indian Nation through my father, am Jewish through my mother, and grew up in Greenwich Village in New York City. I now reside in Takoma Park, Maryland, with my husband and two children.

Q. How long have you been with NMAI?
A. I came to NMAI in 1999, first serving as the Director of Education. I then moved into a curatorial role, to work on the inaugural exhibit, Our Lives, and also one that opened in 2007, Return to a Native Place: Algonquian Peoples of the Chesapeake. Being on the "mommy track," I worked on contract from 2005-2006, and then came back permanently as a historian.

Q. What’s the most rewarding thing about your job?
A. The rewards are endless. I am grateful, on a daily basis, to be involved with the project of uncovering new truths and dispelling stereotypes about Native peoples; I am profoundly honored to be participating in this new legacy of understanding through NMAI.

Q. What are some of the challenges of working on an exhibition like this one?
A. There are many, many challenges. The history and contemporary experiences of individuals, families, and communities who have blended African and Native American heritages are enormously complex throughout the Americas. A major challenge is to try to narrow down the focus and select stories among the thousands that exist. We know that we can't tell all of the stories or speak to all of the experiences, but we hope to give the public enough information so that they can learn more on their own with a set of thoughts to begin with. I am also deeply aware of the emotional pain and policy implications that affect people due to the legacy of colonialism, slavery, and dispossession, so our team is carefully approaching topics that may still be raw for people.

Q. What's the format of the exhibition?
A. IndiVisible will be a panel show and will feature some stunning and powerful images from many different sources. We will also be gathering new images from contemporary fieldwork. One of my favorites was just brought to me by our project manager, Fred Nahwooksy (Comanche), after returning from a trip home to Oklahoma. It shows Ta-ten-e-quer and his wife, Ta-Tat-y, with their niece and her children. The elders in the photo are in classic Comanche dress, while their niece (the daughter of a Comanche woman and an African American Buffalo Soldier) and her children are in early 20th-century clothing. They are clearly mixed African and Native, yet they arrive at the photo studio as a united family.

Q. What do you hope people will take away from the exhibition?
A. Our hope is that people come away with a clearer sense of the vastness of the African-Native American experience in its many aspects, with a deep understanding of the historic and contemporary groundings of real-life stories. I believe that this exhibit will speak to people of all backgrounds, who are engaged in the essentially human pursuit of being and belonging.

Writing Copy for Your Next Exhibition

Let's face it. We've all gone to exhibitions where we moved from object to object, image to image without taking the time to read the labels or text panels. All too often, I see Smithsonian visitors perform this ritual museum dance, flying from one thing to another like toddlers in a room full of exciting, new toys. Yes, it's true. Seeing the ruby slippers in person is much more compelling than reading a 300-word essay about them. Oh wait, isn't that Archie Bunker's chair over there? In a flash, your visitor has darted off to another fabulous treasure and still doesn't understand the significance of that artifact.

So, how do you get people to stay in one place long enough to actually read about the items in your exhibition?

1. In most cases, less is more. We generally keep our text panels to 150-200 words. That's just enough space to say what you need to say without boring your visitor. This is often the toughest job of all, having compiled hundreds and hundreds of pages of fascinating facts about your subject matter. Save it for a companion book. Or if you're small institution, gather your data, convert it to .pdf document, and post it online--quick, easy, and free. You can always provide your visitors with a web address for further information. This will usually appease your most knowledge-hungry museum-goers.

2. Know your audience! This is perhaps the most important advice of all. Who will come to see this show? Families? The art crowd? Regular Joes and Janes? At the Smithsonian, we cater to everyone, even visitors who don't speak English at all. We, therefore, write exhibition copy for those on a middle-school reading level. That's not to say we "dumb things down." If it's a sophisticated topic, chances are the concepts you're covering are also lofty, warranting a deeper, more complicated treatment (but not necessarily any harder to read or digest). After all, it's very frustrating to visitors if they come to an unfamiliar word in the text. Most people will skip it, get frustrated, or simply stop reading altogether. That's the last thing you want to happen. 

It all gets back to knowing your audience: Exhibition text about contemporary medical arts (for a show called Visionary Anatomies  that just came off the road) was very different than copy drafted for the historical exhibition called 381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story. We knew immediately that the contemporary art show would pull in a select audience, while 381 Days would bring in people from all backgrounds, especially school children studying American history.

3. Give it time. You need to let your copy sit for a while. Don't just go get a cup of coffee. Let it cool on your desk for a week or even a month. When you come back to it, you'll immediately recognize the shortcomings of your work (or how brilliant it was in the first place).

Need more advice? Let us know!