Smithsonian exhibition exploring American workforce in Demopolis
What would life be like without teachers, doctors or firefighters? Every day Americans are hard at work on farms, factories, in homes or at desks keeping our communities thriving.
The Marengo County History & Archives Museum in cooperation with Alabama Humanities Foundation, will explore the professions and the people that sustain American society when it hosts “The Way We Worked,” a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition. “The Way We Worked” will be on view April 6 – May 6, 2015.
The Marengo County History & Archives Museum, and the Marengo County Historical Society are seeking help from Marengo County businesses and individuals to participate in the exhibit whether through exhibition material or volunteering time. There are two introductory planning meetings scheduled for March 25, 2014, at MCHAM located at the Rosenbush Building, 101 N. Walnut Avenue, historic downtown Demopolis. The meetings are scheduled for noon, (bring your lunch) and 5:30pm. Each meeting will cover the same information; the two times will allow everyone to participate.
Demopolis and the surrounding community have been expressly chosen by the Alabama Humanities Foundation to host “The Way We Worked” as part of the Museum on Main Street project—a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. The exhibition will tour six communities in Alabama from July 2014 to June 2015: Pell City, Athens, Valley, Cullman, Demopolis, and Dothan.
“The Way We Worked,” adapted from an original exhibition developed by the National Archives and Records Administration, explores how work has become a central element in American culture. It traces the many changes that have affected the workforce and work environments over the past 150 years, including the growth of manufacturing and increasing use of technology. The exhibition draws from the Archives’ rich collections, including historical photographs, archival accounts of workers, film, audio and interactives, to tell the compelling story of how work impacts our individual lives and the historical and cultural fabric of our communities.
“We are very pleased to be able to bring “The Way We Worked” to our area,” said Mary Jones-Fitts, president, Marengo County History and Archives Museum. “It allows us the opportunity to explore this fascinating aspect of our own region’s history, and we hope that it will inspire many to become even more involved in the cultural life of our community.”
Since 1997, the foundation has partnered with the Smithsonian to bring the Museum on Main Street program to small cities and rural communities across Alabama. “Allowing all of our state’s residents to have access to the cultural resources of our nation’s premiere museum is a priority of the Alabama Humanities Foundation,” said Executive Director Armand DeKeyser. “With this special tour, we are pleased to be working with the Marengo County History and Archives Museum and the Marengo County Historical Society to help develop local exhibitions and public programs to compliment the Smithsonian exhibition.”
The Alabama tour of “The Way We Worked” has been made possible by the Alabama Humanities Foundation, the Alabama Power Company, and Norfolk Southern Railroad.
Museum on Main Street is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host institutions. To learn more about “The Way We Worked,” visit museumonmainstreet.org www.museumonmainstreet.org Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
SITES connects millions of Americans with their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of art, science and history exhibitions. State humanities councils, located in each state and U.S. territory, support community-based humanities programs that highlight such topics as local history, literature and cultural traditions. To learn more, visit sites.si.edu www.sites.si.edu or alabamahumanities.org www.alabamahumanities.org.