GATHER
A two by eight grid of square photographs representing the various student projects that comprise this year’s annual exhibit, Gather.
It goes by different names—accompaniment, encuentro, intersubjectivity, the list goes on—but presence has always been at the core of oral history and we believe it always will be. Whether during an interview or listening to a recording or reading a transcript or telling someone about any of the above, something happens to time and space and we know in our bodies that we are with another; that we are not alone.
For the first time in our twelve year history, OHMA is proud to present a fully digital curation of our students’ fieldwork. Initially compelled by global uncertainty to reconsider our usual pop-up event, we whole-heartedly embraced the opportunity to share our work with increased access and longevity, beyond local New York area audiences and beyond the span of two days.
We invite you to GATHER, an interactive oral history exhibit designed to explore, challenge, wonder, ignite, and connect.
Browse the Exhibits:
Many items fill a room. Most of these items are made frame a black leather-like material, and a smooth textured wood. One of the furniture iteams is shaped like an "x" that is about 6 feet high, another piece of furniture is an adjustable, and medical-looking table. This is the studio of someone that practices BDSM and kink. It is evident that this room has been made by hand.
The skyline of Casteddu, the medieval town of Cagliari, Sardinia, at sunset. The sky is light blue while all the clouds are peach and purple on the edge. The photograph is a reflection onto a window.
A traditional Chinese tea table of dark, slightly reddish wood is inlaid with intricate mother-of-pearl designs: a young bamboo tree in the center, two birds in the "air" to the left, four Chinese characters to the right, all encircled by sprigs of flowers. Eight objects have been placed in a larger circle on the ground, surrounding the table. At '12 o'clock' is a portable microphone on a tripod; next, at 10:30 and 1:30, are a small tea kettle and tea cup. Across the circle from each other at 9:00 and 3:00 are two wine-red and deep turquoise notebooks. At 7:30 and 4:30 are a pair of professional headphones and a Nintendo Switch. A blue pen rounds out the circle at 6:00, pointing into the center. The scene has a strong sense of geometry and purposeful symmetry/asymmetry.
Square windows create a tiled pattern that fills the frame. The walls surrounding the glass range in color from blue-grey to light brown.
An old Wurlitzer jukebox is lit up. It has a large curved top that is two different shades of blue and a chrome grating that runs through it. A scene of the Las Vegas strip is portrayed on the lower half of the machine with many different large signs; one reads “Casino.”
Audio equipment in recording booth.
An old home in Santa Fe, Ecuador surrounded by small maize plants in a field. There are trees and mountains around and behind the house against a blue sky, and there is a snow-capped mountain, the Chimborazo volcano.
In monochrome, a "Resist" protest sign is held above the heads of a crowd.
A closet shelf: in the foreground stuffed animals slouch over a pair of child-sized red cowboy boots; the animals sit on top of a stack of magazines; a mugshot of Dr. Martin Luther King peeks out from the pile. In the background, blue christmas bulbs overflow from a box.
Three bison grazing on a yellow, grassy field. A flock of birds takes flight behind them. Several pine trees and lightly snow-covered mountains are in the background. Image credit: Francine D. Spang-Willis.
At Columbia University we are working on the unceded land of the Lenape people, who were violently dispossessed from this place. We honor their roots here, and the strength it has taken to resist and rebuild both here and elsewhere. Our students created work for this exhibit on the lands of the Lenape, Wappinger, Canarsie, Rockaway, Matinecock, Shatori, Catawba, Coast Salish, Duwamish, Puyallup, Sioux, Miami, Potawatomi, Peoria, Kiikaapoi, Cheyenne, Flathead, Crow, Blackfoot, Shoshone-Bannock, Adena, and Hopewell peoples. (Thank you, Native Land Digital!)
As oral historians, we also acknowledge the roots of our practice in indigenous oral history, and the ways in which our field has excluded indigenous people and practices. This acknowledgement is only the beginning of a process of building honoring indigenous land, people, and knowledge into our practices as oral historians for the purposes of healing, reconciliation, learning, resurgence, and the pursuit of justice.