Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

The GREENING of an old exhibition

What happens to old exhibitions when they finally come back to SITES' headquarters in Washington, D.C.? If they're in good condition, sometimes panels and photographs are donated to organizations that want to create permanent displays. But, if a SITES presentation shows its age, with the expected wear of a traveling exhibition visible, what happens then? 

We've embarked on a new "green" initiative with the Smithsonian's building management office to make sure old exhibitions don't end up in a landfill. Mother Earth rejoice: we're now recycling crates and exhibition furniture. When 381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story ended its six-year tour recently, the condition of the exhibition was such that it could not be donated (SITES has a fairly high standard for "good enough"), but the alternative of throwing away this 3,500-square-foot exhibition and its accompanying crates seemed preposterous.

Thanks to the efforts of Chevene Bailey, Lawrence Fields, Tracey Rollins, Otis Massey, Erica Byers, and the head of their department, Randy Peters, with the assistance of Mike Kelton at the Smithsonian's Office of Exhibits Central, this show didn't have to end its life underground. Instead, we were able to sort out the individual components for recycling. Metal and wood were stripped out as were other elements: destined to be reused or recycled.

For more on the "GREENING" of our organization, check out Green Revolution

National Geographic-inspired Portraits

Everyone loves a good contest, right?  That’s exactly what Mike Bearrow, curator at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, GA, was thinking when he began work on programming to accompany their showing of In Focus: National Geographic Portraits. 

Playing off the exhibition’s spotlight on the compelling portraits seen in the iconic magazine, Mike and his staff launched their own photo contest, called “People in Focus.”  They displayed e-mailed photo submissions as a rotating slide show on a flat screen TV in the gallery, and offered up a great prize: the winners in three categories (one subject, two subjects, three or more subjects) would have their photos professionally printed and framed… and hung in the museum!

Congrats to Mike and his colleagues on a great idea.  Here are the winners!

 
Slide show and winning photos on view in the museum.

 
One Person Category Winner: Tracy B. for "Aria"

 
Two Person Category Winner: Courtney E. for "Riderless Horse"

 

 
Three Person Category Winner: Ed E. for "Japan"
 

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Dr. Dorothy Height: A TRUE Freedom Sister

On her 98th birthday, only hours after distinguished members of Congress, celebrities, and dignitaries had gathered to celebrate her birthday, Dr. Dorothy Height was rushed to Howard University Hospital where she still remains in intensive care. I found the news shocking, despite the fact that she is 98 years old.

As a publicist for the Smithsonian Institution, I've had the privilege of working on a most interesting exhibition called Freedom’s Sisters, a nationwide traveling presentation that celebrates 20 African-American women who played pivotal roles in the civil rights movement.

Through my work on this project, I have come to know Dr. Height. But I met her much earlier, in 1999, while participating in the first National Council of Negro Women’s National Oratorical Contest held in Washington, DC. What I remember most about the conference was simply her presence.

Speaking without notes, Dr. Height was able to recall and recount the details of meetings and encounters with Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., and so many other national leaders. This unique historical perspective is what makes her legacy so important. Throughout her lifetime, Dr. Height has worked tirelessly fighting for both civil rights and rights for women in a number of organizations like the National Council of Negro Women and the Young Women’s Christian Association. I feel honored (both then and now) to be a part of anything Dr. Dorothy Height was associated with. Consequently, the day I delivered my speech, I managed to win 1st place.

--Chistin Chism, public relations.

>>Learn about Freedom's Sisters on YouTube!

Image: Dorothy Height at center and Martin Luther King, Jr., at far right. National Park Service; Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site

Smithsonian in YOUR classroom

At SITES, we’re always looking for new and interesting programs to recommend to our exhibitors. We suggest speakers, workshops, events, educational activities, and more so that our venues can reap the full benefit of hosting one of our exhibitions.

To this end, I was recently introduced to a program at the Smithsonian American Art Museum which matches perfectly with SITES’ core mission of bringing the Smithsonian to YOU.  This distance learning program, called Artful Connections, uses real-time videoconferencing in which museum docents teach lessons about U.S. history and culture using the museums’ extensive holdings of American art. That’s right – it’s basically a Smithsonian-led tour of Smithsonian artwork taking place right in YOUR classroom!  And best of all – it’s FREE!

Topics range from “The Lure of the West” to “Found Object Artworks” and correspond to national education standards. For SITES, I was most interested in the program “America’s Signs & Symbols,” as I suspected the themes would parallel those in our exhibition Becoming American: Teenagers & Immigration, making it an excellent program to recommend to future museums on the tour.

Actually observing the “America’s Signs & Symbols” videoconference helped me understand how the setup works, and how valuable the program really is. The docent sits at studio desk and speaks to a camera, using a computer monitor to zoom and indicate details on artwork seen on the screen in the classroom.  The docent sees what the students see on a one monitor, and another monitor shows video of the classroom itself (the view in this photo was later adjusted to be able to see the students – sweet kindergarteners from my hometown of Greenville, SC!)  This way, the instructor can see both the students and what the students are seeing, which facilitates communication and allows the program to run smoothly.

We’re hopeful that our exhibitors will use Artful Connections and recommend it to schools in their area. It’s another great way to experience the Smithsonian without coming to Washington, DC!

To learn more about Artful Connections or to schedule a tour, visit http://americanart.si.edu/education/video/.

Where’s the Fire? (or Stop, Drop, and Roll)

Fire Prevention Week 2009 was last week, and SITES staff was . . . wait for it . . . fired up! But what do traveling exhibitions and fire have in common, you ask?

First of all, every exhibitor that hosts a SITES show must fill out a detailed facility report. Naturally, one of the primary sections has to do with the facility’s fire protection measures. Information about alarm systems, sprinkler placement, and emergency exits–just to name a few–helps us to assess the safety of an exhibition and its objects in any given space. Plus, some of the info required is need-to-know for anyone, not just museum staff: how far away is the local fire station? Do you know how to operate a fire extinguisher? Where is the nearest fire hydrant? Make sure you have the answers!

SITES is also pleased to be working on Where’s the Fire? an upcoming exhibition about firefighting and its history in America. The show, which will include historic fire buckets, helmets, tools, and even model fire engines, will trace the development of firefighting from you, your neighbor, and a couple buckets to the professional and volunteer organizations we have today. Various historic fires (Chicago, anyone?) and prominent firefighters (did you know Ben Franklin was a firefighter?) will be highlighted as well. In a perfect convergence of these two topics, Where’s the Fire? project director Marcie Sprankle and registrar Ruth Trevarrow headed to the Smithsonian’s fire safety demonstrations last week. We not only survived a simulated tornado and watched how quickly sprinklers can extinguish a fire, we also spoke to Frederick County, Virginia Fire & Rescue Department Deputy Chief Linaburg about various fire safety resources that we can make available to future Where’s the Fire? exhibition venues.The bottom line is–you’ve got it–fire is HOT at the Smithsonian!

Marcie Sprankle
Project Director

If your museum is interested in hosting Where’s the Fire?, contact scheduler Ed Liskey at 202.633.3142.

Ted Kennedy: The "Lion" Sleeps--and an Era Ends

Three weeks have passed since the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, "the Lion of the Senate." One of the most influential and powerful senators in our history, he served congress for 46 years. For millions, his death marks the end of an era. The political triumphs and personal tragedies of brothers Ted, Bobby, and John Kennedy have fascinated the public for decades.

The mountain of media coverage surrouding the senator's passing included the familiar, now classic newsreels and archival photographs depicting the lives and tragic deaths of his brothers. They are pictures steeped in mythology. The impossibly young and athletic Kennedys cavorting on their Hyannis Port, Massachusetts compound. Beaming smiles at various spots along the campaign trail during their political rise. Posing with their wives and growing families. And of course, there are the tragic pictures. We watched in disbelief as first one, then, incomprehensibly, two of the brothers were felled by assassins' bullets. And a tiny boy bravely saluted his father's coffin.

Though these images have been burned into our national consciousness, there is another collection of pictures, beautiful and rare, that until recently have not been seen by the public. A series of Kennedy family photographs, taken by the elite photographer Richard Avedon on January 3, 1961, are an exquisite addition to the body of imagery that documents this larger-than-life family. These unforgettable, and deeply personal pictures, now traveling in the SITES exhibition The Kennedys: Portrait of a Family, capture the essence of John F. Kennedy's young family at their finest, looking their most...mythical.

The exhibition's curator, Shannon Thomas Perich, says that "these poignant and stirring photographs never fail to trigger memories, generate conversation, and make visitors recognize that they themselves are part of American history."

To see more of these incredible pictures, or learn about the exhibition, visit our website.

-Teresa G. Gionis, SITES Writer/Editor

Grand Old Flag Exhibit

Like most children her age, my three-year-old daughter breaks into song when the moment strikes: on the train, before bed time, at the grocery store. Of course, there are the favorites like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star;" "Itsy Bitsy Spider," and "She'll Coming 'Round the Mountain." But, I was surprised the other day when I heard a less familiar tune coming from the back seat of our junked up car. "You're a grand old flag; You're a high flying flag," sang my girl in her loudest, most self-assured voice. "La, la, de, da," she belted out searching her brain for right words. "Mommy, do you know the rest?"

"Oh boy!," I thought: the first of many questions that will be answered with "I don't know, dear. Let's look it up online." Which, of course, I forgot to do until the next time she started singing the song in the car. The same question was posed again, and the same response uttered: "Let's look them up, shall we?" This time I did, and tried to commit the words to memory:

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

So, now we know! Why is this even remotely relevant you ask? Because the American flag means something, even to a three-year-old. They may not understand what it means or why its symbolism is so potent, but even the littlest Americans know that there's something powerful about the stars and stripes. Freedom, patriotism, promise--it's all written between the red and white lines and behind the starry field of blue.

As a graphic element, the American flag has been the subject of countless renderings and artistic re-interpretations, from Civil War-era banners to modern advertisements, from Native American beaded moccasins to contemporary protest art.

The American flag is everywhere.

Coming soon, SITES presents Long May She Wave: A Graphic History of the American Flag, an object-based exhibition from one of the world's foremost flag collectors, Kit Hinrichs. Check our website for upcoming details.

Picture Perfect: Singgalot (The Ties That Bind) Filipinos in America, from Colonial Subjects to Citizens

It sounds like a Lifetime movie: World War II soldier falls in love and marries while stationed overseas, but can’t bring his bride back to the U.S. because of restrictions in the 1924 National Origins Act. Federal “war brides” legislation is enacted, and a new generation of Filipino families is created in America.

Flash forward 65 years. Marilyn Carbonell attends an exhibit reception and reading by poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil at the Kansas City (MO) Public Library’s Central Library. While strolling through Singgalot, she happens upon a never-before-seen photo of her mother as a 1946 war bride.

Carbonell’s first reaction upon seeing the exhibition panel was utter amazement. “I actually exclaimed rather loudly–probably too loudly for a library–‘That’s my mother!’” Continues Carbonell, “I was astounded and very moved to see her face–MY mother, Teofista Fernandez Ignacio Carbonell, as a young woman, aged 32/33, staring out at me, dressed in her coat with large buttons and holding her triangular purse.”

Carbonell’s family has been in the U.S. since 1905. Her father, Luis Hernandez Carbonell, immigrated to the U.S. through Seattle in the 1920s, eventually settling in Chicago, and worked for the U.S. Post Office as a mail clerk. He was 37 or 38 years old when he volunteered for the U.S. Army and attained the rank of Corporal T-5 in the Second Filipino Regiment that was sent to the Philippines, where he met and married her mother.

"My parents were very proud to be Americans and would have loved to see the history of Filipino immigration as told in the exhibit. Singgalot joins the past with the present through stories of the Filipino people who came to America, and it helps connect the generations.”

Coincidentally, that night Dr. Manuel Pardo, a well-known area physician, found a photo of his cousin, a Hawaiian ophthalmologist. Says Margaret Clark, director of adult programs at the Central Library,"To have visitors find family members included in exhibit content was a first for me. Needless to say, it made for a very special evening."

Singgalot is currently on view at Odegaard Undergraduate Library at the University of Washington, Seattle, and will travel to San Diego, San Francisco, California, PA, and other cities over the next two years. Please contact SITES at 202.633.3160 for more information about bringing the exhibition to your community. 

Developed by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and organized by SITES. The Smithsonian tour is made possible by Farmers Insurance.

--Ann Carper, SITES Editor

The Presidential Toll

You’ve compared the photos. Is being President of the United States aging Barack Obama? Are there more gray hairs on that head than before? If so, it’s not the first time that the nation’s highest office has taken a visible toll on its occupant. 

When Abraham Lincoln became President in 1861, he was a fresh-faced senator, much like today’s Commander-in-Chief. But the issue of slavery and division of the Union weighed heavily, and in portraits taken just before Lincoln's 1865 assassination, his face reflects the enormity of those responsibilities.

The brand new Mask of Lincoln portfolio set, a collaboration between SITES and the National Portrait Gallery, allows a glimpse at this striking transition. Visit our Lincoln website to access .pdf files of the portfolio’s pages and see for yourself. Better yet, print and cut out small thumbnail images to create a flip book and watch Lincoln age before your eyes. And be sure to visit our Facebook page's discussion board to tell us what you think!

Time to reevaluate your Presidential aspirations?

 

To make your own Lincoln flip book:

1. Go to www.sites.si.edu/lincoln to access the .pdf files of the portfolio

2.  Print out the portfolio's back cover with the ten thumbnail images of Lincoln

3.  Cut out the images, including the red space to the left side of each photograph (this is where you will staple it together)

4.  Put the portraits in order, and stack them so that each edge sticks out slightly further than the one before

5.  Staple the pages together in the red area on the left side, and you're ready to start flipping!

 

- Marcie Sprankle, Project Director

 

The Mask of Lincoln portfolio was made possible by a grant from the Smithsonian Women’s Committee.

Easter Eggs Anyone?

Did you know that over 11,000 eggs are dyed by White House chefs in preparation for the Easter Egg Roll? Or that it is the largest annual event held on the White House grounds? Look behind-the-scenes of this historic affair in two Smithsonian exhibitions. The holiday tradition dates back to 1878 when President Rutherford B. Hayes officially opened the White House grounds to local children for egg rolling on Easter Monday. Successive Presidents have continued the tradition of inviting children to the White House Lawn for spring-time games and entertainment.

This year’s festivities, with a theme of “Let’s Go Play," will encourage America’s youth to lead healthy and active lives, as President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama open the South Lawn to children and their families to enjoy sports, cooking classes, live musical performances, storytelling and, of course, the traditional egg roll. Former executive housekeeper at the White House, Christine Limerick, remembers the hard work by dedicated staff to pull off the grand event. “At the end of the day the staff was rewarded by the smiles and thanks of the children and their parents, tired, but happy, as they left the South Grounds, Easter souvenirs and treats in hand,” she said. Limerick’s experiences and memories from years working inside the White House are featured in The Working White House exhibition, now on view in Anniston, AL.

If gardens are your thing, check out The White House Garden. This exhibition traces the development of the gardens and grounds from the plans of Pierre Charles L’Enfant to the present, illustrating how the gardens have served as a spectacular stage for everything from the annual Easter egg festivities, to state weddings and royal receptions to President Eisenhower’s personal putting green. This year’s White House Easter Egg Roll will be held Monday, April 13, on the South Lawn of the White House. But, if you are closer to Anniston on Saturday, April 4, the Berman Museum of World History plays tribute to The Working White House and The White House Garden exhibitions with their own White House-style Easter Egg Roll!

To learn about White House-related events hosted in conjunction with the Smithsonian White House exhibitions, go to our Facebook page!

--Lindsey Koren, SITES PR office

The White House Garden, an exhibition developed and supported by the White House Historical Association and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). The Working White House: Two Centuries of Traditions and Memories, was developed with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the White House Historical Association and is organized for travel by SITES.