Apr. 28: Listening through Time and Place: An Interactive Oral History Exhibit
WHEN: Thursday, April 28, 2016, 5:00 - 8:00 pm
WHERE: The Social Hall, Union Theological Seminary, 3041 Broadway at 121st Street
Audience members will be invited to don headphones, enter immersive spaces, use all of their senses, and learn about topics ranging from the Santería religious tradition to Southern food, from Latinx migration to activism in Turkey.
Oral history has the potential to transform public dialogue about some of the most important issues of our time—race and representation, migrant justice, legacies of colonization and political violence—by amplifying community histories in the public sphere, providing new perspectives and historical context.
How can oral histories help us deepen our understanding of how communities resist, change, and grow? This interactive, multimedia pop-up exhibit, curated by the students and faculty of the Columbia Oral History Master of Arts program, will present twelve projects engaging this question from different angles, asking:
- How do experiences of movement and migration broaden our understanding of borders and the ways they have been challenged over time?
- How are stories of resilience and tradition transmitted?
- How do legacies of colonialism and violence manifest in both individual and collective memory?
- How can personal stories about the past document injustice and indicate a new way forward?
- How might we use oral history to imagine and create the future we want?
Event is fully accessible. Refreshments will be served and children are welcome!
Exhibits include:
Black Gotham Experience by Mario Alvarez
A window into the Black Gotham Experience by photographer Kamau Ware
Nueva York es la Frontera by Pablo Baeza
Life stories of Latina immigrant activists organizing and supporting New York immigrant communities
Spiritual Biography: Place, Faith, and New Rochelle by Mark Campbell II
From the Midwest to New York, inspired by oral histories from folks along the way
Salvage the Sound of Silence by Felicia Wu Chen
Survivors of the 1994 New York subway bombing tell their stories
Still.Life. by Nyssa Chow
Three women share the story of their lives in the British colony Trinidad and Tobago in the 1920s
Shattering Silence by Eylem Delikanli
Life story of Aylin Tekiner, an artist and human rights activist from Turkey
Growth, Change, and Dirt by Margaret Gooding-Silverwood
Empowerment narratives in stories of agriculture in the American South
Hogar de la Distancia / Home of Distance by Fernanda Espinosa
A multimedia sound and visual art project documenting stories of Ecuadorian immigrants
Ki-ŏk: Memories of a Korean-American Generation by Christina Pae
Stories from the lives of five Korean-Americans born in Korea in the 1930s
Existential Cathexis by Geraldo Scala
How objects color our experience and give our lives added meaning
From Where the Palm Grows / De Donde Crece La Palma by Meghan Valdes
Four Cuban immigrants who explore their unique migration stories
Santería Stories / Cuentos de la Santería by Andrew Viñales
The world of Santería through religious materials, music and interviews