Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service's Blog

SITES, CFC, and Bread for the City

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the public-sector version of United Way, is an annual event for federal employees. This year SITES “keyworkers” decided to supplement our departmental fundraising by conducting a food drive—a tangible response to the economic downturn that’s decreasing food bank donations at a time of increasing need. We selected Bread for the City, a local agency that provides comprehensive services, including food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services, to vulnerable residents of Washington, DC.

We liked its emphasis on encouraging healthy eating as one way to address the obesity, diabetes, and hypertension that affect many of its clients (as well as society at large). As Bread’s Executive Director George A. Jones says, “It’s not enough to merely help people eat; we must help them eat well.” The organization’s nutritionist offers one-on-one nutrition counseling and healthy cooking classes free to the community. And it eliminated from its food pantry all foods with trans-fats and high-sodium, high-fructose corn syrup.

Guided by the website’s list of suggested foods, SITES surpassed our target of 100 healthy food items. During our month-long drive, staff contributed boxes of unsweetened cereal and whole-wheat pasta, cans of tuna in water, bags of dry beans, jars of organic baby food, and low-fat, low-salt broths and soups. A lunchtime movie (Night at the Museum, of course), with a food donation as the price of admission, helped fill three cartons, which we donated before New Year’s Eve. As for the CFC drive itself, SITES has more than doubled our goal of $5,000—and we still have the rest of January to go!

Behind the Scenes with the Curator

Jim Deutsch is co-curator of The Working White House: 200 Years of Tradition and Memories, which examines the fascinating history of the men and women who work behind the scenes to help keep the White House running smoothly. Reflecting his work as a program curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Jim focused on the White House as a unique workplace with a distinctive work culture. Excerpts from his interviews with recently retired White House workers are featured in the exhibition’s audio tour and video and may be downloaded from The Working White House exhibition page on SITES’ website.

Q. Define “occupational culture.”
A. Every occupational group—whether it is actuaries, biologists, cowboys, dishwashers, engineers, firefighters, gaffers, and haberdashers (to take just the first eight letters of the alphabet)—has its own “occupational culture”—the set of skills, specialized knowledge, and codes of behavior that not only distinguish it from other occupational groups, but which also meet its needs as a community. There is only one White House, so the people who work there have a very specialized set of skills, knowledge, and codes of behavior. As with any folk group, these skills, etc., are shared and passed on, from one generation of workers to the next. In the case of doctors and nurses working in a hospital, some of their traditions will be part of a broad category of medical lore; some will be tied to the individual hospital in which they work; and some will be tied to their specific department. For instance, the culture of emergency room workers is quite different from that of endocrinologists.

Q. How many former workers did you interview?
A. We interviewed 10 former workers in the late summer and early fall of 2007.They represented a wide variety of occupational skills (chefs, butlers, ushers, electricians, housekeepers, etc.) and supplemented the more extensive series of interviews with former White House workers that had been done by my colleague Marjorie Hunt in preparation for the 1992 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Q. What makes a good interview?
A. I think the best interviews are ones that are free-flowing and conversational. I always try to start with basic questions that are easier to answer—such as how the interviewee came to work at the White House—in order to put them at ease, before moving into topics that might be more sensitive and difficult to answer. I do have some questions in mind before the interview begins, but I think what’s most important is to listen very closely to what is being said, and to follow up on some of those points before going on to whatever your next question might be.

Q. Give an example of how not to conduct an interview.
A. One example comes from a conversation with Lynne Cheney that I observed in 2005. When asked about her favorite presidents, Cheney named George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and James K. Polk. But instead of posing the obvious follow-up question—James K. Polk!?—the interviewer simply looked down at his index cards and went on to the next question he had prepared. So my first three rules of successful interviewing should be listen, listen, listen.

Q. What tips can you give individuals who would like to conduct oral histories with family members?
A. Do it, and do it before it’s too late! My mother’s parents died when I was five years old, and I’ve been trying to find out where they came from; all we know now is that they immigrated from somewhere on what was the western edge of the Russian Empire in 1908. But that could have been present-day Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia; my grandparents’ native tongue was Yiddish, which was spoken all over that part of the world. If only someone in our family had interviewed them, or had saved some of the relevant documents, I might now have the answers I am seeking.

Want the full interview with curator Jim Deutsch?

SITES and American History

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH) reopened on November 21 after a massive renovation of its grand entry corridor and its key exhibition gallery--the Star Spangled Banner display.

A colleague and I crossed the blustery National Mall a few days for an official look at the new building. In a word, the new space is BRIGHT, a far cry from the dark, catacomb-like interior of the 1960s museum. The entrance from the Mall side is spacious and modern, making use of reflective glass and metal, but the real eye candy is most certainly the Star Spangled Banner gallery. "Upon entering this exhibition, visitors are immersed in the Battle of Baltimore, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write his famous lyrics. The almost 200-year old, 30 x 34"-foot flag is displayed in a special environmentally-controlled chamber, while an interactive table with a tactile image allows visitors to investigate key details of the flag and how it was made."

Beyond this central space, the museum offers visitors a smorgasbord of historical delights. At SITES, we're particularly fond of the first ladies gallery. In fact, the traveling version of First Ladies, on the road from 2004-2007, was one of our most popular exhibitions--as was the American Presidency, another collaborator effort with NMAH. Our commitment to american history, both the museum and the topic, is strong.

We're currently working with NMAH on three other diverse exhibitions, including Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964, about the Mexican agricultural work program that was enacted as a stopgap measure for labor shortages during WWII. We're also traveling two shows that document notable politicians and world events: Diana Walker: Photojournalist--a behind-the-scenes look at the administrations of several presidents, from Gerald Ford to Bill Clinton and The Kennedys | Portrait of a Family: Photographs by Richard Avedon, presenting some of the most candid images of the young first family ever taken. 

If you're in D.C. go to the American History; if you're looking for american history in your neck of the woods, check out a SITES/American History show today.

White House Worker Subject of Major Film

Just after its initial opening at the State Historical Society of Iowa, The Working White House is in the news again. Yesterday we learned that one of the individuals highlighted in the exhibition will be the subject of a full-length movie produced by Columbia Pictures. Eugene Allen, who began his White House service as a pantryman, will be the subject of the upcoming film. Allen witnessed history-making events from a vantage point few understand. He started during the Eisenhower administration and maintained his position until 1986, officially retiring during Ronald Reagan's second term in office.

Allen also served as a maitre d' and butler, and of these jobs he admits, "I thought I knew how to serve. But the White House is different. Other places you can make mistakes, and you don’t feel so bad; but you don’t feel like making mistakes for the president and first lady . . . I had a good relationship with all the butlers. You know, it’s closer than your relatives, because you work so close together. You see them every day. You eat together, you work together. It’s every day."

The film will be, according to the recent Reuters' article, a "portrait of an extraordinary African American man who has lived to see the world turn. It's about the essence of this man and what he saw, as well as the love story with his wife," said the movie's producer Laura Ziskin. From the historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling to the untimely assassinations of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy, Allen has a unique personal perspective on the events that continue to shape our modern world.

Check out The Working White House video for in-depth interviews with White House staffers, past and present.

Smithsonian on Facebook, YouTube, iTunes

SITES has a fairly small staff by Smithsonian standards, about 50 hard-working souls. Needless to say, we can't physcially be everywhere, although we do try. Indeed, on any given day, we have staff members jetting to Idaho, Florida, Wyoming, California, Georgia, even Guam.

Web 2.0 has allowed us to be in even more places recently--all over the world in fact. (About 25% of our web traffic comes from outside the United States.)

And, we're still growing. In the last month, we've launched a YouTube channel and a new Facebook page. We've also been posting more and more podcasts on iTunes, giving museum visitors and the general public even better access to our traveling exhibitions. You can listen to baseball great Roberto Clemente; learn about muppet-creator Jim Henson's creative world, or hear the authentic sounds of letterpress print shop in Nashville, Tennessee. You can practically taste the stadium hot dogs, hear the laughter, and smell the freshly printed ink.

If you can't actually visit a SITES exhibition in person, there's no better way to experience the Smithsonian--on your own laptop, blackberry, or iPod. Check us out on these new platforms and become a fan!

Exhibition on Migrant Workers

Are there topics out there that are too hot for museums to handle? Absolutely is the answer that many would give. But what if an exhibition helps people better understand a contemporary issue by examining a similar historical moment? This is certainly the edifying role that museums should play.

Opening in February 2010, Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964 (Cosecha Amarga, Cosecha Dulce: El Programa Bracero, 1942-1964) is such an exhibition. It's gritty and raw and gives audiences a chance to see immigration and labor issues from another perspective--void of the political rhetoric that clouds the controversy today.

Comprised of images shot by magazine photographer Leonard Nadel in 1956, the exhibition documents a little-known chapter in American history, after World War II, when labor shortages threatened small farmers, larger growers, and farm associations in California, Texas, and 25 other states. By the time the bracero project was terminated in 1964, it had become the largest guest worker program in U.S. history, bringing some 4.6 million Mexican nationals across the border to fill short-term labor contracts. But even its own day, the bracero program didn't escape controversy. Exploitation, violations of civil liberties and legal rights were common--not to mention substandard living and working conditions.

"It was grueling, the time spent away from home was difficult, but the opportunity [for these men] to earn money was real. The program was truly bittersweet," says exhibition curator Peter Liebhold of the National Museum of American History.

" . . . come labor for your mother, your father and your brother, for your sister and your lover; Bracero come pick the fruit of yellow. Break the flower from the berry; purple grapes will fill your belly, Bracero . . . and the sun will bite your body, as the dust will draw you thirsty while your muscles beg for mercy . . ."

--"Bracero" by Phil Ocres

Go to the National Museum of American History's Bracero Archive

What's New Online? Using Web 2.0

I'm just off the plane from snowy Montreal, where this year's Museums and the Web conference was held and where discussions centered on the use of Web 2.0. Chances are if you're reading SITES' blog, you're already quite familiar with the uses (and misuses) of this newish technology. Blogs, wikis, Flickr, social networking, YouTube--these are the buzz words for the Web 2.0 generation. But how do we use these platforms (wisely)? Should museums/cultural institutions care? Should we be afraid of losing control of vetted, academic content?

Yes, we should care. Non-profits are often are the last to jump on the technology bandwagon, yet this is one case where we should embrace what's out there. Web 2.0 has great potential for museums, encouraging more active, more meaningful visitor participation--a tangible means of getting visitors hooked and thinking after they walk out the museum's doors. Still, it's not entirely self-serving. People get something out of contributing, whether a photo on Flickr or content that's been shared on a museum wiki, there's a satisfaction in making connections with like-minded individuals, in knowing that curators may be shaking their heads and saying, "Well, I never thought of it that way."

A handful of folks admitted that you just have to change your plan-everything-years-in-advance attitude and see what happens. You don't know where the content/commentary will go until it's up there. Gail Durbin of the Victoria & Albert Museum in the UK was a big advocate for this kind of "learning by experiment" as were others who admitted you just have to wait, watch, and wonder how your project will evolve.It's a very organic process.You have to let it flower and just continue to trim back the dead blooms.

That leads us to the second question. Should we be afraid of losing control? I heard this particular comment from all the leading museums. "We want to use x,y,z technology, but we're apprehensive about blurring the line between our well-researched materials and unsubstantiated 'facts' from the public." Some participants insisted that you should visually establish a clear distinction. Perhaps there's obvious "official" information in one area and more dynamic, user-generated content in another. Remember, you can moderate commentary. You can offer a policy that indicates what is legitimate and what will be removed.

What about not-so-complimentary feedback? Don't worry about Negative Nancy, who tells you that your exhibition brochure wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. The great thing about a loyal social network is that the group will often come to your defense. It's all about strong building relationships--whether real or virtual.

Kermit and Friends in Mesa, Arizona

These days, the phrase "going green" means something completely different than it did back in the '70s. For many of us, the green craze blossomed with our first glimpse of lovable Kermit the Frog, on stage with say an equally affable Linda Ronstadt or John Denver. We adored our amphibian friend then, and even this generation of hard-to-impress youngsters finds him hard to resist, along with the green guy's colorful comrades: Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, the Sesame Street Gang, and all the rest.

The man behind these well-known and much-beloved characters is the subject of "Jim Henson's Fantastic World," a wildly popular SITES exhibition touring the country until 2011. So far, this exhibition has been a huge hit, not only because we all have a soft spot for Kermie but because of well-planned special events, programs, and fund raising efforts.

Recently Smithsonian National Board member, Gay Wray, hosted a grandparent/grandchild day at the Arizona Museum for Youth, for example, recently hosted a grandparent/grandchild day as an introduction to the exhibition. About 20 families participated in the event, which included a bouncy but memorable bus ride to the museum, a hot and cheesy hamburger lunch, and a surprise visit from the "Magic Fairy," who effortlessly granted wishes with one swish of her wand. Of course, the exhibition itself wasn't too shabby either as wide-eyed fans gawked in front of the real Kermit and a host of other puppets.

"The most rewarding thing," said development officer Jennifer O'Keefe, "was that most of these kids had never been to the museum or even any museum. In the case of one painfully shy visitor, the puppets and hands-on activities encouraged her to open up a little. By the end of the day, she was laughing and participating right along with the other kids."

That, my friends, is what it's all about, and I think Kermie would agree.

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."

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.