Traveling Exhibition Services

As MSU continues to evaluate the safety of our campus and community in response to COVID-19, we have made the decision to close the MSU Museum. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the situation, we have not determined a reopening date. We will continue to communicate updates as they become available. During this time, we will do everything we can to stay engaged with you virtually. Access virtual learning and activity resources

Immigration and Caricature:
Ethnic Images from the Appel Collection

Image of THE MORTAR OF ASSIMILATION AND THE ONE ELEMENT THAT WON'T MIX, Puck, June 26, 1889.

Click here to see samples from our exhibition.

"Interesting display depicting both realities and conceived realities of the attitudes faced by immigrants—provoking."

"Very telling of the social un-consciousness of the time. Very revealing, unsettling and truthful." —Visitor comments, Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI

This exhibition explores the role of caricature and stereotype in forming American values and attitudes about the multicultural development of the United States. It utilizes a collection of immigrant and ethnic caricatures from popular graphics dating primarily from the Civil War to World War I, a period of massive migration to the United States. To modern Americans, the contents are sometimes humorous, sometimes very disturbing. Nevertheless, the collection offers great insight into American cultural attitudes and is a remarkable resource for the study of American cultural history. The items used in this exhibition consist of a variety of print media such as cartoons, postcards, trade cards, and prints and lithographs, all of which come from over 4,000 pieces donated to the MSU Museum by Dr. John and Selma Appel. Materials from their collection have been loaned to numerous exhibitions on ethnic images and immigration throughout the United States and the Appels have written many publications on the subject.

Schedule
No current bookings, this exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Philadelphia, PA; Dreams of Freedom Museum, Boston, MA; Immigration Law Foundation, Washington, DC; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI; Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; South Dakota State Historical Society, Pierre, SD; Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, Glen Cove, NY; Beaumier Upper Penninsula Heritage Center, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI; Schoolcraft College, Livonia, MI; Stauth Memorial Museum, Montezuma, KS; Holland Museum, Holland, MI; and Mariposa Museum and World Cultural Center, Peterborough, NH.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$1,500, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
37 framed works

Running feet required:
50-75 running feet

Insurance Value:
$15,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; trained guards or comparable protection system; provisions to prevent public from touching objects; object handling by museum professionals; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

This exhibition was funded by John and Selma Appel and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs
.

Ahmed "Kathy" Kathrada: A South African Activist for Non-Racialism and Democracy

Photo of Ahmed 'Kathy' Katnrada signing books Nelson Mandela's prison mate, confidante, parliamentary counselor and friend Ahmed Kathrada is the subject of a new nationally touring exhibition. "Ahmed 'Kathy' Kathrada: A South African Activist for Non-Racialism and Democracy tells the story of the renowned advocate for freedom, as well as the anti-apartheid movement itself through the life and work of South Africa's beloved "Kathy." Kathy's exemplary leadership continues to inspire South Africans and others around the world to work for freedom, non-racialism, and democracy.

Ahmed Mohammed Kathrada (or 'Kathy' as he is popularly known) was born in 1929 to Indian immigrants in a rural town in South Africa. Kathy was only 12 when he began a life of tireless activism for non-racialism and democracy. He was arrested several times and, along with eight friends and fellow activists including Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu, he was sentenced at the famous Rivonia Treason Trial to life imprisonment. He spent 26 years in prison, eighteen of which were on Robben Island.

In 1989 Kathy was released from prison and, in 1994, in the new democratic South African government, he was elected to the South African Parliament and served as President Mandela's Parliamentary Counselor. Kathy is the recipient of numerous national and international awards, is a prolific author, and, while in prison, earned four university degrees.

Photo of introductory panel

This powerful exhibition includes a series of colorful flexible free-standing panels and banners featuring photographs, images of documents, and extended quotes from Kathrada and his liberation colleagues. One of the more moving and dramatic elements of the exhibit is a replica of Kathy's jail cell, from the notorious Robben Island prison. Visitors are able to experience the tiny cell and see the few personal items Kathy was allowed for more than 20 years of imprisonment. In addition, to these elements, there is a 6 minute video with interviews with Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid liberation leaders and world leaders. Related educational materials and a handout customizable for each venue are also available.

Originally developed by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation based in South Africa with support from the Mandela Foundation, this expanded U.S. Traveling version was supported by the University of Kentucky and Michigan State University (MSU Museum, Office of Outreach and Engagement, and Office of the President).

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Lafferty Hall, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; The Lyric Theatre, Lexington, KY; The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and Boston, MA; and the MSU Museum, East Lansing, MI.

Rental fee (12 week period):
$5,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
12 free standing panels, 3 free standing banners, 1 small building

Running feet required:
1400 square feet

Insurance Value:
$40,000

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

Dear Mr. Mandela.... Dear Mrs. Parks: Children's Letters, Global Lessons

Image of Dear Mr. Mandela exhibit on display Created by the staffs of the MSU Museum and the Nelson Mandela Museum along with other MSU faculty, staff and students and community members in South Africa and Michigan, "Dear Mr. Mandela, Dear Mrs. Parks: Children's Letters, Global Lessons" is an exhibit of letters written by children from all over the world to human rights leaders Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) and Rosa Parks (1913-2005). The exhibition first opened at the Nelson Mandela National Museum in Mthatha, South Africa. Two traveling versions of the exhibitions are now traveling, one each in South Africa and the United States. The exhibition includes video-taped welcoming comments from three Nobel Prize awardees: President Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and President Obama and each venue is encouraged to provide letter writing stations where visitors of all ages can write letters to Parks, Mandela, or people that they feel have made a change in their lives, their communities, or the world.

Image of Mrs. Parks. Mr. Mandela panel from the exhibit The inspiration for "Dear Mr. Mandela.....Dear Mrs. Parks" came from the hundreds of children around the world who have written letters to two individuals--Nelson Mandela of South Africa and the late Rosa Parks of the United States--who are internationally known for their work in human rights. The letters reveal why children revere Mandela and Parks and also how young people's desires for guidance and understanding about life.

Image of Letter to Nelson Mandela from the exhibit "The exhibit also encourages visitors - especially youth -- to understand and be tolerant of diverse cultures and traditions, become aware of the ongoing struggle for human rights around the world, and recognize ways to honor individuals in their own families and communities who--like Mandela and Parks--have contributed, in large and small ways, to making a better world," notes MSU Museum curator, C. Kurt Dewhurst, one of the exhibit's organizers.

"The exhibit brings together two remarkable icons that have dedicated their lives to human rights and did so with great sacrifice," said Kurt Dewhurst, MSU Museum director and one of the exhibit's organizers. "And they did so in two different ways - Mr. Mandela, a public figure, was able to rise to be president and a worldwide figure after years of imprisonment; and Mrs. Parks, through her quiet strength, was able to leave a remarkable legacy. They show how individuals can make a real difference in the world."

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: MSU Museum, East Lansing, MI; The Nelson Mandela Museum, Mthatha, South Africa; and Muhammad Ali Center, Louisville, KY.

Rental fee (12 week period):
$7,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
46

Running feet required:
350 square feet, plus 120 linear feet of wall space

Insurance Value:
$20,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; provisions to prevent public from touching pieces; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

Learn more:

-Nelson Mandela National Museum
-Stellenboch University

Images of Human Rights: South African Prints

Image of 'Safe as housing,' linocut by David John Yule. "It was an honor to host this powerful and provocative exhibit."
—Seattle Central Community College, Seattle, WA

"Fascinating, glad to see this brought here, thought provoking and educational."

"The humanity in this art brought tears to my eyes!" "A beautiful and valuable collection."

"We drove up [from Portland] especially to see this! It's great!" —Visitor comments, Seattle Central Community College, Seattle, WA

"Interesting - informative - centered - relevant today! It makes or motivates thinking, meditation and action!"

"I am an African—a black African from South Africa—and I have been amazed by the amount of knowledge and information this [exhibit has...] about my country. Some of the things exhibited here are things I did not even know about my own country! But all the same, I have been encouraged to know my history—who I am, where I come from and where I'm going to."

"This is a very important lesson in real democracy."

"Wow! A fabulous touring exhibit of the good that occurs when humans of all races work together." "What a great eye-opener to our basic rights."

"The exhibition gives pause to thought. The ideas expressed are most significant to every aspect of our life, community and world-wide civilization."
—Visitor comments, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI

The South African Bill of Rights was born out of a long struggle against racial segregation and human rights violations. Until the first democratic election in 1994, the majority of South Africans had been excluded from participating in the political process. Talks in the early 1990s beween political prisoner Nelson Mandela and then South African leader F.W. De Klerk ultimately led to free elections and a new government which aimed to respect the rights of all its citizens. Images of Human Rights features 29 fine art prints, created by artists representing the nine provinces of South Africa and hand printed by master printmaker Jan Jordaan. The print portfolio was conceived of and released in 1996 by the Images of Human Rights Portfolio Committee, in commemoration of the newly post-Apartheid nation's Bill of Rights. Funds generated from the sale of portfolios are deposited in the Artists for Human Rights Trust account and are used by Amnesty International and other organizations for human rights education programs for the young people of South Africa. This set of prints is being circulated in North America as one of a series of activities between Michigan State University and a consortium of agencies in South Africa, including the African National Congress; Centre for Cultural Studies, University of Fort Hare; and Mayibuye Centre, University of the Western Cape.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been shown at the following sites: African American, Performing Arts Center, Albuquerque, NM; Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI; Estrella Mountain Community College, Avondale, AZ; Fort Miami Heritage Society, St. Joseph, MI; The Gallery at Festival/James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA; Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; Park Library Baber Room/Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI; Montcalm Community College, Sidney, MI; Rankin Center Art Gallery/Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI; Seattle Central Community College, Seattle, WA; Estrella Mountain Community College, Avondale, AZ; The Gallery at Festival, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$1,500, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
28

Running feet required:
75-100 ft.

Insurance Value:
$11,800

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

Support for the purchase of the prints and organization of this traveling exhibition has been provided by Michigan State University Office of the Provost, Consortium for Inter-Institutional Collaboration in African and Latin American Studies (CICALS), and Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.For information

Siyazama: Traditional Arts, Education,
and AIDS in South Africa

Photo of a Siyazama doll made by Lobolile Ximba in 2003. Click here to view the online version of the exhibit

Throughout the world art has long been used as a tool for cultural, social, and economic change. In South Africa many educators and activists used performing and visual arts in the successful anti-apartheid movement. Now arts are being used there to educate individuals about the realities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This exhibition explores how traditional knowledge and skills are used to address contemporary issues in South Africa. It showcases the Siyazama (Zulu for "we are trying") Project, an arts education project based in KwaZulu Natal which uses traditional crafts to raise awareness about AIDS.

As of 2005, 20 million people worldwide have died from AIDS and 39 million people are living with AIDS. In Africa alone, 25 million people are infected and there are 14 million orphans. With 5 million new HIV infections a year, AIDS is an epidemic of disastrous proportions. Over 100 pieces in this exhibit-including indigenous traditional art forms such as beadwork, dollmaking, basketry and wirework-reveal how South African artists are using their work to educate others as well as to cope with the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS in their own lives and communities.

Schedule

No current bookings.

This exhibition has been displayed at the Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; The African American Performing Arts Center, Albuquerque, NM; Institute for Community Research, Hartford, CT; the Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL; and Mathers Museum of World Cultures, Bloomington, IN.

Rental fee (16-week period):
$10,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
63

Running feet required:
Approx. 850 square feet, including 200 linear feet of wall space

Insurance Value:
$30,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; provisions to prevent the public from touching objects; object handling by museum professionals; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials

Quilting Sisters:
African-American Quiltmaking in Michigan

Photo of Blue Jean Pockets quilt made by Essie Lee Robinson in 1990.

Click here to see the quilts that are featured in this exhibition.

This exhibition of fifteen quilts from the Michigan State University Museum's extensive textile collections represents the diversity of quilting traditions found within historical and contemporary African-American communities in Michigan. From very conservative to highly innovative styles, the quilts reflect these themes: 1) records of patterns of migration and settlement; 2) expressions or documents of ethnic identity; 3) quilters as artists/quilts as art; 4) documents of personal, family, and community history; and 5) quilting traditions. The inclusion of photographic portraits of individual quilters taken by Kalamazoo-based artist Mary Whalen and excerpts from taped interviews make this exhibition a truly enriching experience.

This exhibition is eligible for funding through the Michigan Humanities Council's Arts and Humanities Touring Program. For more information, click here.

Schedule

No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI; The Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI; Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, MI; Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MI; Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, MI; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI; The Castellani Art Museum, Niagara Falls, NY; and Lapeer Center for the Arts, Lapeer, MI.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$2,500, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
15

Running feet required:
150 square feet

Insurance Value:
$30,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; trained guards or comparable protection system; provisions to prevent the public from touching objects; object handling by museum professionals; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances.

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

Funding of the research, exhibition and publication was made possible by the financial and in-kind support of the Michigan State University Museum, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts/Folk Arts Program, and the MSU Office of the Provost.

Unpacking Collections: The Legacy of Cuesta Benberry, An African American Quilt Scholar

Photo of the quilt Afro American women and quilts Click here to view the online version of the exhibit

This exhibit features the textile collections of the late Cuesta Benberry, one of the twentieth-centuries pioneers of research on American quiltmaking and the forerunner of research on African American quiltmaking.

"Every collection reflects a point of view, a passion a mindful purpose of the collector who made it," explains Marsha MacDowell, MSU Museum curator of folk arts and MSU professor of art and art history. "In literally unpacking a scholar's collection, a museum or an archive has a responsibility to care for, research, interpret, and make accessible the contents of the collection. It is when a collection-its parts and its whole-is figuratively unpacked, that we can learn more about the scholar and the subjects they researched."

The Cuesta Benberry African and African American Quilt and Quilt History Collections contains 52 quilts (including family quilts and the only one Benberry actually made), notebooks, quilt kits and patterns, and scores of notes and clippings related to quiltmakers, quilts, and quilt exhibitions. A founder of the American Quilt Study Group in 1980, Benberry was also the author of several books about quilt history, including Always There: The African American Presence in American Quilts and A Piece of My Soul: Quilts by Black Arkansans.

Photo of the W.P.A. tulip quilt Benberry had a long association with the MSU Museum, the home of the Great Lakes Quilt Center, when she passed away in 2007, her family gave the Michigan State University Museum her collection of African and African American quilts and her quilt history. Then in 2009, the American Folk Art Museum in New York City transferred its Benberry collections to the MSU Museum so that the bulk of her work could be in one place where it could be more effectively accessed for research and educational uses.

MSU Museum staff, students and volunteers have "unpacked" -- sorted through, cataloged, and re-housed Benberry's collection. "In the process, these workers engaged in discussions of their observations about both the collection and the collector and the issues and insights that help make collections available for research, teaching and exhibitions," adds Mary Worrall, co-curator of the exhibition and Assistant Curator, MSU Museum.

Included in the exhibition is a sampling of Benberry's quilts and reproductions of some of her quilt history ephemera and research papers. Those venues who book the exhibition are encoureaged to provide in-gallery computer link to Cuesta Benberry Quilt Treasure Online Portrait (http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/treasures/main.php?id=5-16-3). which features a short interview with Benberry as well as a link to The Quilt Index (www.quiltindex.org) where visitors can search for and access all of Benberry's collection. Both the Quilt Treasure portraits and the Quilt Index are projects of the Michigan State University Museum, The Alliance for American Quilts, and MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following site: Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; and DuSable Museum of African Americah History, Chicago, IL.

Rental fee (12-week period):
$5,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
16 quilts, assorted emphemera

Running feet required:
200 running feet

Insurance Value:
$80,000

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

Welcome to Idlewild: The Black Eden of Michigan

"Great Display! Very informative. I know a lot more about Idlewild than before."

"I never knew this was in Michigan. I'm going to look up more about it."

"It was great to see the exhibit. So well put together. Brought back a ton of memories."

"Many compliments for both content and appearance."

"A very nice resource from an outstanding group. Great job of collaboration."

"Lived here 50+ years, never knew it existed. Very nice history"

"Great display and info about the real Idlewild"

—Visitor comments, Hedrik Meijer Library, Muskegon Community College, Muskegon, MI

Photo of the Idlewild Exhibition on Display Idlewild, located in rural northwestern Michigan, holds a special place in the nation's segregated history. For many years, this "Black Eden" was one of only a few resorts in the country where African-Americans could vacation and purchase property. From 1912 through the mid-1960s, Idlewild was an active year-round community and was visited by well-known entertainers and professionals from throughout the country. At its peak it was the most popular resort in the Midwest and as many as 25,000 would come to Idlewild in the height of the summer season to enjoy camping, swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, roller skating and night-time entertainment. When the 1964 Civil Rights Act opened up other resorts to African-Americans, Idlewild's boomtown period subsided but the community continues to be an important place for vacationers and retirees. Idlewild also holds special meaning as a place for younger generations of African-Americans seeking to learn about their heritage.

This exhibition, created in collaboration with current residents and scholars of Idlewild, consists of handsome, free-standing photographic interpretive banners and a reproduction of an Idlewild history quilt by Michigan quilter Deonna Todd Green. It traces through words and images the development of the Idlewild community from its inception in the early twentieth century to the present day. It glimpses beyond the often told stories of Idlewild's entertainment scene during its resort heyday period to tell the full story of a community that has survived the challenges of historical change.

Schedule
This will be on display at Dwight Rich Performing Arts Academy in Lansing, MI until Jan 31, 2020

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Hendrik Meijer Library, Muskegon Community College, Muskegon, MI; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI; Mason County District Library, Ludington, MI; Montcalm Community College, Sidney, MI; MSU Extension Conference, Kellogg Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; Newaygo County Council for the Arts, Fremont, MI; Southfield Public Library, Southfield, MI; Flint Public Library, Flint, MI; Willilam P. Faust Public Library, Westland, MI; Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI, The Village Theater at Cherry Hill, Canton, MI; The Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, MI; Schoolcraft College, Livonia, MI; Lorenzo Cultural Center at Macomb Community College, Clinton Twp., MI; West Shore Community College, Scottville, MI; and Big Rapids Festival of the Arts, Big Rapids, MI.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$1,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
11

Running feet required:
50 linear feet

Insurance Value:
$5,500

Security requirement:
None

Additional materials available:
Press materials

Learn more about Idlewild:

Ronald J. Stephens, Idlewild: The Black Eden of Michigan. Chicago, Illinois: Arcadia Publishing, 2001.

Lewis Walker and Ben C. Wilson, The Idlewild Community: Black Eden. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press, 2002.

Ted Talbert, Idlewild: A Place in the Sun, WDIV-TV (Channel 4), Detroit, Michigan.

This traveling exhibition is supported by grants from the Michigan Humanities Council, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Research Council for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with in-kind support from the Idlewild Historical Museum and Cultural Center and Michigan State University Museum.

America's Fairs Educating Communities

Click here to see our online exhibition

"The exhibit was wonderful and the public response was positive and enthusiastic."
—Orange County Fair, Santa Ana, CA

America's agricultural fairs focused on educating farmers and their families and in doing so created a continuing annual American tradition. Reproductions of artworks, created between 1880 - 1920 to promote county and state fairs, illustrate the emergence of a unique educational fair in America where competition was the vehicle to inform and to inspire, strengthening a national industry--agriculture.
America's Fairs Educating Communities is possible through the loan of the unique private collection of The Fair Publishing House, Inc. (Norwalk, Ohio). These artworks provide a wonderful window into the past depicting not only our fairs, but livestock, fashion and exhibition architecture of the period.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Berrien County Youth Fair, Berrien Springs, MI; Calhoun County Fair, Marshall, MI; Carroll County Community Live Gallery, Westminister, MD; Cass County Fair, Cassopolis, MI; Courthouse Square Association, Charlotte, MI; Eastern Michigan Fair, Imlay City, MI; Florida State Fair, Tampa, FL; Great Allentown Fair, Allentown, PA; Hillsdale County Fair, Hillsdale, MI; Historic Oak View County Park, Raleigh, NC; Ingham County Fair, Mason, MI; Maple Hill Mall (sponsored by Kalamazoo County Fair Board), Kalamazoo, MI; Michigan State Fair, Detroit, MI; Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, Gaithersburg, MD; Newaygo County Fair/Art Center, Fremont, MI; Northern District Fair, Cadillac, MI; Old Shawnee Town, Shawnee, KS; Orange County Fair, Costa Mesa, CA; Rogers Historical Museum, Rogers, AR; Schnecksville Community Fair, Schnecksville, PA; South Dakota State Historical Society, Pierre, SD; St. Joseph County Grange Fair, Centreville, MI; Michigan State Fair, Detroit, MI; Huntingdon County Fair, Huntingdon, PA; Lorenzo Cultural Center, Macomb Community College, Clinton Twp., MI; Michigan Festivals & Events Association Annual Meeting, Acme, MI; and Atkins-Johnson Farm Museum, Gladstone, MO.

Rental fee (8-week period) :
$1,500, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
29 reproductions of turn-of-the-century paintings created for posters to promote agricultural fairs

Running feet required:
75-95 running feet

Insurance Value:
$10,000 Certificate of insurance required

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; provisions to prevent the public from touching pieces; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

This traveling exhibition is an Agricultural Heritage Program activity of the Michigan State University Museum. It is made possible with the generous financial and in-kind support of the Carroll County Youth Fair (Maryland), The Fair Publishing House, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, Maas Foundation, Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Michigan Department of Agriculture, Michigan Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Humanities, The Office of Racing Commissioner, and the following departments and units of Michigan State University: Office of the Provost, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Office of the Vice Provost and Dean, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, MSU Extension, Office of Academic and Student Affairs.

Horse Racing and Early Fair Time Entertainment

Image of Catalog cover portraying competition for "the best" at the fair, ca. 1904. Click here to see our online exhibition

Historically, county fairs were one of the few places to see horse racing. Before the midway gained prominence, fireworks displays, balloon ascensions, acrobatic performances, air shows and horse racing were early entertainment featured at fairs. Connections between fairs and racing continue today with tracks at some fairgrounds and revenues from racing supporting youth programs and fair premiums. Horse Racing is the third exhibition in the FairTime! series, which features reproductions of the stunning turn-of-the-century art from The Fair Publishing House, Inc. (Norwalk, Ohio). It explores the historical developments of entertainment at agricultural fairs with a focus on horse racing.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the Jackson County Fair, Jackson, MI; Michigan Harness Horseman's Association, Okemos, MI; Iosco County Fair, Hale, MI; Orange County Fair, Costa Mesa, CA; Calhoun County Fair, Marshall, MI; St. Joseph County Grange Fair, Centreville, MI; Hillsdale County Fair, Hillsdale, MI; Calhoun County Fair, MI; and Huntingdon County Fair, Huntingdon, PA.

Rental Fee (8 Week period):
$1,500, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
21 reproductions of turn-of-the-century paintings created for posters to promote agricultural fairs

Running feet required:
75-100 running feet

Insurance Value:
$8,000 Certificate of insurance required

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; provisions to prevent the public from touching pieces; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials
available:Press materials.

This traveling exhibition is an Agricultural Heritage Program activity of the Michigan State University Museum. It is made possible with the generous financial and in-kind support of the Carroll County Youth Fair (Maryland), The Fair Publishing House, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, Maas Foundation, Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Michigan Department of Agriculture, Michigan Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Humanities, The Office of Racing Commissioner, Upper Peninsula State Fair, and the following departments and units of Michigan State University: Office of the Provost, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Office of the Vice Provost and Dean, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, MSU Extension, Office of Academic and Student Affairs
.

Livestock Heritage: Serving a Nation

Image of A glimpse of breed standards created by W. Layman, 1911. Click here to see our online exhibition

Fairs have always been a change agent, shaping agricultural products and refining the techniques that create them. Early fairs were a particularly useful tool for livestock breeders, inspiring and challenging them to improve the quality and quantity of our food supply. Animal agriculture has continuously evolved to meet the changing needs of the nation and world. The story of animal agriculture goes beyond food to clothing, medical advances, pharmaceuticals and recreation. Livestock Heritage is the second exhibition in the FairTime! series, featuring reproductions of The Fair Publishing House, Inc. (Norwalk, Ohio) collection of turn-of-the-century fair poster art. This exhibition helps to foster an awareness of the role of fairs in the changing field of livestock agriculture.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Monroe County Fair, Monroe, MI; Marquette County Fair, Skandia, MI; Genesee County Fair, Mt. Morris, MI; Upper Penninsula State Fair, Escanaba, MI; Houghton County Fair, Hancock, MI; Cheboygan County Extension, Cheboygan, MI; Ohio Department of Agriculture, Reynoldsburg, OH; Orange County Fair, Costa Mesta, CA; Isabella County Fair, Mt. Pleasant, MI; Calhoun County Fair, Marshall, MI; St. Joseph County Grange Fair, Centreville, MI; Hillsdale County Fair, Hillsdale, MI; Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, MI; Eastern States Exposition, West Springfield, MA; Calhoun County Fair, Marshall, MI,Kennsington Farm Center, Milford, MI; Old Shawnee Town, Shawnee, KS; MSU Extension Conference, East Lansing, MI; Huntingdon County Fair, Huntingdon, PA.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$1,500, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
20 reproductions of turn-of-the-century paintings created for posters to promote agricultural fairs

Running feet required:
75-100 running feet

Insurance Value:
$8,000 Certificate of insurance required

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; provisions to prevent the public from touching pieces; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

This traveling exhibition is an Agricultural Heritage Program activity of the Michigan State University Museum. It is made possible with the generous financial and in-kind support of the Carroll County Youth Fair (Maryland), The Fair Publishing House, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, Maas Foundation, Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Michigan Department of Agriculture, Michigan Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Humanities, The Office of Racing Commissioner, Upper Peninsula State Fair, and the following departments and units of Michigan State University: Office of the Provost, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Office of the Vice Provost and Dean, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, MSU Extension, Office of Academic and Student Affairs.

Michigan Eats: Regional Culture Through Food

"The library gained so much- publicity, new connections with members of the community and local organizations, and new ventures into programming that will guide the library's long range planning."
—Cheboygan Area Public Library, Cheboygan, MI

"Many [veiwers] liked the emphasis on local traditions. The apple butter "maker' was a huge hit."
—White Lake Community Library, Whitehall, MI

We are what we eat! For Michiganders this means pasties, muskrat dinners, coneys, fish fries, cherry pie, and much more. What makes these Michigan foods? After all there is nothing that all Michiganders and only they eat. Michigan foods are those of the many communities—ethnic, regional, local—that constitute the state. State boundaries, however, do not dictate cultural boundaries. Nonetheless, it is possible to generalize about Michigan’s food and foodways by looking at food traditions in specific regions and locales. The term “foodways” means more than just food; it includes the entire complex of behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs associated with food, from cultivation to consumption. “Michigan Foodways,” a traveling exhibition from the Michigan State University Museum, examines factors such as physical environment and history in the development of Michigan’s food traditions.

The exhibit consists of 34 interpretive panels that convey in words and images many of the diverse food traditions found around the state. The exhibit also includes historic and contemporary objects from the Michigan State University Museum and private collections that illustrate various aspects of Michigan foodways, such as: kitchen utensils; implements used in the production of maple syrup; and packaging from some of Michigan’s best known food producers, like Kellogg, Jiffy, and Vernors. Visitors can also listen to clips from food-themed songs and stories about Michigan food on the exhibit’s interactive listening station. The exhibit, which traveled to six Michigan communities in 2007-08 in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute’s “Key Ingredients: America By Food” exhibit, has been redesigned to feature additional content from those communities (Calumet, Cheboygan, Chelsea, Dundee, Frankenmuth, and Whitehall).

This exhibition is eligible for funding through the Michigan Humanities Council's Arts and Humanities Touring Program. For more information, click here.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Saginaw County Fair, Chesaning, MI; Choices Conference, East Lansing, MI; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI; Lorenzo Cultural Center, Macomb Community College, Clinton Twp., MI; Schoolcraft College, Livonia, MI; and Dowagiac Area Museum, Dowagiac, MI.

Rental fee (12-week period):
$2,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
48 objects, 34 standing interpretive panels

Running feet required:
1000 square feet

Insurance Value:
$30,000

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

This traveling exhibition is a Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Traditional Arts Program activity supported in part by the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Michigan's Heritage Barns:
An Artist's Perspective

"Nice cross section of Michigan barns and presentation."
"Keep the legacy going."
"Excellent way to preserve our heritage." —Visitor comments, Michigan Week Celebration, Sturgis, MI

The great variety of barns in Michigan reflects the diversity within our agricultural heritage. Through 22 black and white barn portraits, Mary Keithan presents barns as works of art. A native of rural Pennsylvania, Keithan is now a resident of northern Macomb County, Michigan and has received degrees in fine art from Pennsylvania State University and Hunter College. This exhibition also includes labels, written by members of the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, that help visitors understand how barns reflect both the state's agricultural history and the cultural diversity of the individuals and communities that built them. Text panels also highlight today's challenges of preserving these structures.

Schedule

No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Bonifas Fine Arts Center, Escanaba, MI; Brandon Township Library, Ortonville, MI; Clawson School District, Clawson, MI; Gallery 194, Lapeer Center for the Arts, Lapeer, MI; Hillsdale County Fair, Hillsdale, MI; Mid Michigan Community College, Harrison, MI; Montcalm Community College, Sidney, MI; National Draft Horse Expo, MSU Pavilion, East Lansing, MI; St. Joseph County Grange Fair, Centreville, MI; Sturgis Chamber of Commerce, Sturgis, MI; Trenton Cultural Center, Trenton, MI; Williamston Depot Museum, Williamston, MI; Tecumseh Area Historical Museum, Tecumseh, MI; William Bonifas Fine Arts Center, Escanaba, MI; Michigan Great Lakes International, Inc., East Lansing, MI; Peter White Public Library, Marquette, MI; Baraga County Fair, Pelkie, MI; Scottville Mainstreet, Scottville, MI; Oakland County Parks & Recreation, Ellis Barn, Waterford, MI; Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI; Lorenzo Cultural Center, Macomb Community College, Clinton Twp., MI; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$800, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
22

Running feet required:
40 - 60 ft.

Insurance Value:
$7,200

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; provisions to prevent the public from touching pieces; fire protection according to local ordinances.

Additional materials available:
Press materials. Related programs and information available through Michigan Barn Preservation Network and the MSU Museum. MSU Press has published Michigan Heritage Barns: Photographs by Mary Keithan.

This traveling exhibition is an Agricultural Heritage Program activity of the Michigan State University Museum made possible with the generous financial and in-kind support of the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, Michigan Barn Preservation Network, Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs, Michigan Humanities Council, and National Endowment for the Humanities.For information

Storytelling Through the Mail: Tall Tale Postcards

Photo of a postcard featuring the Jackalope.

Click here to see our online exhibition

"I did not realize this was such an extensive 'art form.' It was great to learn about this tall tale 'art' of the past."
"Funny!"
"Love that Jackalope!"
"Nice exhibit! I really enjoyed the cut-outs and banners to go along with the cards."
"Hilarious!"
"Very nice... Viewer/audience friendly... An exhibition you want to hang out in."
"Tall tales are such a big part of U.S. history and to see them documented in postcards is wonderful."
"Thanks for the laughs (loved it)!"
—Visitor comments, Michigan State University Museum
"The cards make me laugh. A very enjoyable exhibit."

Thank you. This was a great experience."
—Visitor comments, Rogers Historical Museum, Rogers, AR

Imagine a land... where corn grows to the size of tree trunks; where the lakes are so cold that the trout have fur coats; where deer have become hunters and men are their prey. These assorted oddities come vividly to life in "Storytelling through the Mail: Tall Tale Postcards." Tall tales are humorous stories of exaggeration, fictional accounts that are presented as the truth. Tall tale postcards, a popular visual form of telling these stories, are created often through photographic trickery. The exhibit features over 80 examples of postcards from around the United States, plus artifacts like taxidermy specimens, newspaper cartoons and magazine covers that also help to tell the story of the tall tale postcard.

Schedule

No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Art League of Bonita Springs, Bonita Springs, FL; Hartwick Pines State Park, Grayling, MI; Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, MI; Rogers Historical Museum, Rogers, AR; South Dakota State Historical Society, Pierre, SD; Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, MI; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI, Arlington Heights Historical Society and Museum, Arlington Heights, IL; Museum of Culture and Environment, Ellensburg, WA; Museum of the Gulf Coast, Port Arthur, TX; and Lakeshore Museum Center, Muskegon, MI.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$2,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
47

Running feet required:
150 linear feet

Insurance Value:
$12,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; experienced or museum-trained persons supervising exhibition during hours open to the public; exhibition area locked during closed hours; experienced object handlers; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials

This traveling exhibition is a Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Traditional Arts Program activity supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the ANR Week Program Committee, and the Elizabeth Halsted Lifelong Education Endowment.

The Unauthorized Audubon...a conversation in prints and poetry

The Unauthorized Audubon is a conversation in prints and poetry, a quirky and light-hearted coupling of creative expression between two Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) faculty members on the Michigan State University campus. Birds provide the inspiration for the imagery and verses.

"The Unauthorized Audubon began with friendship and feathers: a surprise block print, and a new poem in response. One gift led to another. Soon there were flocks of words and fowl stanzas, block prints nesting in mailboxes, cooing in pockets, and skittering under doors. The birds in these prints had stories and lives and histories and big feet. Clearly they were remarkable creatures. As they fluttered from imagination to reality, they sang out for appreciation of their unique personae. Someone had to introduce them to this world. We were chosen.

This project reacquainted us with the joy of play. While we are both quite serious about and dedicated to our individual artistic genres, we discovered in collaboration another level of artistic pleasure. Was our matching print with poem like a move in a chess game? Was it an echo of the old playground game, Red Rover ('Red Rover, Red Rover, send the next bird right over...')? Was it the surprise of what we might find in the Cracker Jacks when we went to our mailboxes to see what was nesting among the student papers, minutes of committee meetings, and announcements of conferences? Well, if you put down one Navajo Flute, I'll raise you an Appalachian Mustard Seed. Underneath it all was the childhood delight in sound and rhythm (and nonsense), in learning to speak multi-media, in seeing things anew and, honestly, in showing off. Such opportunities are not typically found or prized in the university setting. We think they should be. "

Photo of Navaho flute print by Laura B. DeLind

Schedule

No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI and the Lookout Gallery, Snyder Hall, MSU, East Lansing.

Rental fee:
$1,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
48 wall mounted pieces

Running feet required:
100 linear feet of wall space

Insurance Value:
$30,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; trained guards or comparable protection system; provisions to prevent public from touching objects; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

Laura B. DeLind holds a joint appointment in the Department of Anthropology and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at MSU. Trained as an anthropologist and critical food-system analyst, she also is a working graphic artist. She has been designing linocuts and hand pulling prints for over thirty years. Her prints sell nationally, appear in permanent art collections, and have been turned into logos and rubber stamps. Laura has had several one woman shows, but the Unauthorized Audubon, a series of 22 poems and prints done with poet Anita Skeen, is her first artistic collaboration.

Laura is drawn to the boldness of black and white design, to organic shapes and pattern. She is also captivated by her immediate surroundings, especially by images found in her own back yard. For this reason, birds provide a ready-made subject matter for her thoughtful, yet whimsical prints.

Anita Skeen is director of the Center for Poetry at Michigan State University and a professor in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities where she also serves as Arts Coordinator. She is the author of five collections of poetry (Each Hand A Map; Portraits; Outside the Fold, Outside the Frame; The Resurrection of the Animals; and Never the Whole Story), a co-authored collection with Oklahoma poet Jane Taylor (When We Say Shelter), and the co-editor, along with Taylor, of the anthology, Once Upon a Place: Writing from Ghost Ranch. Her most recent work is a collaboration with visual artist Laura DeLind, 22 prints and poems of imaginary birds, The Unauthorized Audubon. Her work with Chicago visual artist Guillermo Delgado, The Secret Lives of Things, can be found at http://livesofthings.wordpress.com. In January of 2012, she served as Writer in Residence at Converse College in Spartanburg, SC. For more than thirty years she has been the coordinator of the annual Creative Arts Festival at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM, and for fifteen years of the annual Ghost Ranch Fall Writing Festival.

The Unauthorized Audubon is now in print. You can purchase the book from the Michigan State University Press, click here.

A Community between Two Worlds:
Arab Americans in Greater Detroit

Image of Flag-waving students

The photographs in this exhibition celebrate the cultural and historical complexity of southeast Michigan's Arab American community. Arabs have been coming to Michigan and the United States for over a century. Detroit has one of the oldest and most diverse Arab communities in the nation. Now numbering approximately 250,000, it is also the largest Arab community in America. A Community between Two Worlds examines how life in Arab Detroit has changed since immigration to Michigan; shows how Arab American culture is part of American culture; explores the role traditional artists play in maintaining an Arab American identity; and traces the many links that tie Detroit to the Arab world. Developed and curated by the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) (Dearborn, Michigan) and the Michigan State University Museum, the exhibition includes 59 historical and contemporary photographs. A Community Between Two Worlds is based on an earlier photographic exhibition by ACCESS and the National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian Institution.

PICTURED:Flag-waving students turn out for a Clean Up Our City rally in Dearborn, 1994.
Photo courtesy of Bruce Harkness.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Philadelphia, PA; Bay de Noc Community College, Escanaba, MI; Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit, MI; Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; Castellani Art Museum, Niagara Falls, NY; National Assembly of State Arts Agencies Meeting, Detroit, MI; Sloan Museum, Flint, MI; Lorenzo Cultural Center, Clinton Twp., MI; New Americans Museum, San Diego, CA; and Brody Gallery, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

Rental Fee (12-week period):
$2,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
58 photographs

Running feet required:
300 ft

Insurance Value:
$17,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials

This traveling exhibition is an ACCESS/Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Traditional Arts Program activity made possible by the financial and in-kind support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ruth Mott Fund, the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Community Folklife Program administered by The Fund for Folk Culture and underwritten by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Michigan Humanities Council, Terry Daoud, Yehia Shousher, ACCESS, the Michigan State University Museum, Detroit Historical Museum, the Arab American Advisory Committee, and the Arab American Arts Council.

Uneasy Years: Michigan Jewry During Depression and War

Photos of two panels from Uneasy Years: Michigan Jewry During Depression and War This exhibition explores the dilemmas of Michigan Jews during Depression and WWII, at once increasingly at home in Michigan and the US, yet anxious amidst depression and rising anti-Semitism in the US, and the rise of Nazism, terror, and the war abroad. Five themes include:

At Home in Michigan: at work, and within community

Jews in the Mind of Michigan and America: present in popular culture at the same time as discrimination, and anti-Semitism is growing

Coming of War: as Nazi terror spread in Europe, Americans grappled with their ability and responsibility

Jews in World War II: Michigan Jews contributed in many ways after Pearl Harbor, when the US entered WWII

Immigrants, Refugees & Haven: as an immigrant nation, America's response to the refugee crisis was limited and restricted

Uneasy Years is a collaboration of Congregation Shaarey Zedek of East Lansing, Michigan State University Jewish Studies Program, and Michigan State University Museum with the cooperation of the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan. Co-curators Dr. Kenneth Waltzer, Professor of History in James Madison College and Director of Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities, and Dr. Kirsten Fermaglich, Assistant Professor of History and Jewish Studies, both of MSU lead the research and developed the exhibit content and themes.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, Macomb Community College, Clinton Twp, MI; and Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$800, plus shipping.

Number of pieces:
40 photographic/interpretive panels. Panels sized from 29"w x 25"h to 40"w x 30"h. Average size: 24"w x 30"h

Running feet required:
80 -100 linear feet

Insurance Value:
$9,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

This traveling exhibition was made possible with financial support from Congregation Shaarey Zedek of East Lansing, Michigan State University Jewish Studies Program, Michigan State University Museum, the Michigan Humanities Council, the Ben Teitle Foundation, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and private donors.

Echoes of Silent Spring: 50 Years of Environmental Awareness

Click here to view the exhibit

Image of Silent Spring exhibit postcard In the modern, human-dominated world, a wide variety of pests threaten our environment, agriculture, and health, and must be controlled. Part of the strategy for controlling pests is the use of chemicals that kill or reduce the numbers of the pest; and 50 years ago, a publication alerted the people of the world to potential dangers in pesticide use. This book was Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson and published in 1962. The MSU Museum revisits the publication of this landmark book, credited with launching the modern environmental movement.

"While pesticides are important agents in pest control, they also can carry significant risks if not used carefully and strategically," notes MSU Museum Director Gary Morgan, the exhibit's curator. "We now know that some pesticides that were once widely used can be extremely dangerous to organisms other than the target pests."

As a direct result of the publication of Silent Spring, practices of pesticide use were subjected to much more intense scrutiny and much has changed since then. Most observers say the changes have been for the better, but some suggest the impacts of Silent Spring may have been negative. "Echoes of Silent Spring: 50 Years of Environmental Awareness" invites visitors to experience the exhibit, read the book, and be the judge.

Close to home, research presented in the best-seller Silent Spring had a very close connection to Michigan - particularly the major case study citing the observation of birds on the campus of Michigan State University that experienced tremors then death after consuming large amounts of the pesticide DDT as it accumulated in soil, and consequently, in their food source, earthworms. Part of the exhibit showcases ongoing correspondence between Carson and MSU ornithologist George Wallace, whose papers are now part of the MSU Museum's collection.

Beyond the book itself, "Echoes of Silent Spring" considers many interrelated issues such as environmental sustainability and agricultural practices, ethics, law, and women in science.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available

This exhibition has been displayed at the Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; and Alma College, Alma, MI.

Rental fee (12 weeks):
$2,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
31

Running feet required:
140 running feet

Insurance Value:
$32,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area;temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

This exhibit is supported, in part, by a gift from Sarah W. Newman
.

The International Print Portfolio: Artists' Expressions of Universal Human Rights

Image of Banned, Gonkar Gyatso (Tibetan). Screenprint on paper, 13.002" x 12.608". Photo by Pearl Yee Wong. Click here to see our online exhibition

On December 19, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a list of human rights it believed all countries in the world should respect. Many countries in the world have based their own Bills of Rights on the UDHR. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UDHR and to raise awareness of human rights issues, the Artists for Human Rights Trust (Durban, South Africa) published the International Print Portfolio that is featured in this exhibition. The Portfolio is made up of monochrome wood/linocut prints illustrating various articles of the UDHR. Artists from 25 countries that participated in the project, including Iran, Cuba, South Africa, India, Mozambique and Tibet. The works are striking in the variety of artistic styles they portray, as well as in their emotional and sometimes disturbing subject matter. Each artist brings a unique national and political perspective to issues of human rights that are still being faced globally today.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been shown at the following site: African American, Performing Arts Center, Albuquerque, NM; the Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; the African American Cultural Center Gallery, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; Schoolcraft College, Livonia MI, Brody Neighborhood at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$1,500, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
32

Running feet required:
150 - 200 ft.

Insurance Value:
$13,600

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

Funding for planning the U.S. tour of this exhibition has been provided by Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts with in-kind support from the Michigan State University Museum.

Campus and Community: MSU's Land-Grant Tradition of Community-Engaged Action

"I urge our nation's best universities to join in the journey to reaffirm and to extend beyond our borders the core values of the Morrill Act as the fuel and inspiration for higher education's engagement with a global society in the century ahead."--Dr. LouAnna K. Simon, President, Michigan State University, 2012.

This exhibition is a celebration of the land-grant university tradition of community-engaged action during the 150^th anniversary of the signing of the Morrill Act. The banner-panel exhibition features lively profiles and photographs of exemplary projects/programs of MSU and community collaborative partnerships. It is organized in five thematic areas: Reinventing Agriculture; Sustainable Solutions; Building on Traditions; Transforming Communities; and Campus Tradtions.

The exhibition has been produced by the Michigan State University Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate. The program is inspired by and partially based on the themes and presentations originally created for the Campus and Community program at the 2012 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.

THE MORRILL ACT AND A LAND-GRANT TRADITION
On July 2, 1862, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill that brought hope for thousands of Americans. The Morrill Act granted to states and territories tracts of land that-when sold- provided funding for public universities. The "land-grant tradition" refers to the commitment of land-grant and public universities to provide world-class educations, conduct cutting-edge research, and engage communities as partners to build a better world.

As the sample of programs at Michigan State University highlighted in this exhibition illustrate, universities are maintaining the land-grant tradition in many fields and impacting a broad range of communities locally, nationally, and globally.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available

This exhibition has been displayed at the Great Lakes Folk Festival, East Lansing, MI.

Rental fee (12 week period):
$2,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
22 panels

Running feet required:
80 rinning feet

Insurance Value:
$24,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

Funding for this exhibition has been provided by the MSU Offices of the President, Provost, and University Outreach and Engagement.

Great Lakes Native Quilting

Image of Strawberries and Flowers, Alice Olsen Williams (Anishnaabeg), 1991. Cotton and cotton/polyester fabric with polyester filling. Click here to see the quilts that are featured in this exhibition.

Great Lakes Native Quilting is the first exhibition devoted to North American Indian quilting in the Great Lakes region. Organized by curator of folk arts Marsha MacDowell, the exhibit grew out of work for the Michigan State University Museum's previous major national research and exhibition project on Native quiltmaking in North America and Hawaii. This exhibit examines the historical introduction of quilting as well as the contemporary use and meaning of quilts made by Oneida, Odawa, Potawatomi, Ojibwa, and Mohawk quiltmakers living in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, and Ontario. It showcases the diversity of Native quiltmaking and pays tribute to the artists who continue to work in this expressive cultural medium. The sixteen quilts included in the exhibit are primarily drawn from the Michigan State University Museum collection with additional loans from other private and public collections. The exhibit also includes photographs of quilters and quilting activities, biographical sketches of contemporary quilters, explanatory text panels, and four contextual settings which visually demonstrate the uses of quilts in Great Lakes Native communities, both historically and today.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI; Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, IN; Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; Newaygo County Council for the Arts, Fremont, MI; Sloan Museum, Flint, MI; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI; Lorenzo Cultural Center, Macomb Community College, Clinton Township, MI; and Ziibiwing Center fro Anishinabe Culture & Lifestyle, Mt. Pleasant, MI.

Rental Fee (12-week period):
$4,500, plus climate controlled shipping

Number of pieces:
16

Running feet required:
850 square feet, plus 200 linear feet of wall space

Insurance Value:
$30,000

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

This traveling exhibition is a Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Traditional Arts Program activity supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, Jeffrey and Kitty Cole, and the MSU Office of the Provost
.

The Mary Schafer Collection:
A Legacy of Quilt History

Image of Clamshell, Mary Schafer, ca. 1966, made in Flushing, Genesee County, Michigan. Cotton with polyester filling. Click here to see our on-line exhibition

Born in Austria-Hungary in 1910 and later immigrating to the United States, Mary Schafer would become one of an important group of women who kept quilting and quilt studies alive between World War II and the 1970s revival of interest in quilts. A resident of Michigan for most of her life, she has long been recognized as one of the forerunners of quilt studies as well as the developer of one of the most important quilt history collections in the country. This exhibition traces the life and work of a unique individual, whose passion for an art form has contributed greatly to its survival. The quilts featured in "A Legacy of Quilt History" reflect the varying aspects of Mary's interests and work, from nineteenth century quilts she collected to more recent works she has designed herself and often collaborated on with other quilters. These intricate and colorful creations are supplemented with biographical information that draws from Mary's collection of her own letters and other ephemera, recently acquired by the Michigan State University Museum. The result is an often very personal expression of Mary Schafer's work, friendships and her lifelong efforts "to raise in popular esteem" the appreciation of quilts and their history.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following site: Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; the Stauth Memorial Museum, Montezuma, KS; and Mercer Museum, Bucks County Historical Societ, Doylestown, PA..

Rental fee (12-week period):
Full Version: $5,000, plus climate controlled shipping
Smaller Version: $2,500, plus climate controlled shipping

Number of pieces:
Full Version: 25 quilts, 20 text barriers, 12 wall text panels
Smaller Version: 10 quilts, 9 text barriers, 12 wall text panels

Running feet required:
Full Version: Approximately 275 feet
Smaller Version: Approximately 100 feet

Insurance Value:
Full Version: $60,000
Smaller Version: $23,630

Additional materials available:
Press materials

This traveling exhibition is a Michigan State University Museum/Great Lakes Quilt Center, Michigan Traditional Arts Program activity supported in part by funds from Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Additional support provided by Kitty Clark Cole and Country Stitches.

Michigan Folksong Legacy: Grand Discoveries from the Great Depression

"An outstanding portrayal of Michigan Heritage"

"Weaves together information and song."

"Shows the diversity of early Michigan.

"A glimpse of another time."

"Particular good at showing the context around Lomax's recordings."

Michigan Folksong Legacy: Grand Discoveries from the Great Depression
The Michigan State University Museum has produced a traveling exhibit in celebration of the 75^thanniversary of folklorist Alan Lomax's pioneering 1938 folk music collecting trip in Michigan, and the 100^th anniversary of his birth in 2015. The traveling exhibition Michigan Folksong Legacy: Grand Discoveries from the Great Depression, brings Alan Lomax's Michigan journey to life through words, song lyrics, photographs, and sound recordings. Twelve interpretive banners explore themes such as Alan Lomax and Michigan folksong collecting in the 1930s; the geography of Lomax's travels; the musical culture of lumberjacks, miners, and schoonermen (Great Lakes sailors); Michigan's ethnic diversity and its reflection in Lomax's field recordings; and the importance of the Lomax Michigan legacy today. Each panel contains a QR code that links to related sound recordings from the Alan Lomax Collection at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Exhibition venues of libraries, museums, community centers, and performing arts centers may choose to book performers who perform music collected by Lomax and humanities scholars who speak about Lomax's contributions to the documentation and preservation of our state and national music heritage.

Alan Lomax's Michigan Legacy
In 1938, a young folk music collector named Alan Lomax - destined to become one of the legendary folklorists of the 20^th century - came from Washington, DC to record Michigan's richly varied folk music traditions for the Archive of American Folk-Song at the Library of Congress. Michigan in the 1930s was experiencing a golden age of folksong collecting, as local folklorists mined the trove of ballads remembered by aging lumbermen and Great Lakes schoonermen. In addition to the ballads of these north woods singers, Lomax recorded a vibrant mix of ethnic music from Detroit to the Western Upper Peninsula. Additional resources that commemorate Lomax's Michigan legacy include multimedia publications, recordings, and online access to the Lomax Michigan collection.

Schedule

This Exhibit is on loan. It will be available again in June of 2020.
Note - Not available May 2021- Oct. 2021

This exhibition has been shown at the following sites: Park Library, Central Michgan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI; Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, MI; Beaumier Heritage Center, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI; Van Pelt and Opie Library, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI; Finnish American Heritage Center, Hancock, MI; Sulo and Aileen Maki Library, Finlandia Univeristy, Hancock, MI; Beaver Island District Library, Beaver Island, MI; Presque Isle County Historical Museum, Rogers City, MI; St. Ignace Public Library, St. Ignace, MI; Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; and Lorenzo Cultural Center, Macomb Community College, Clinton Twp., MI.

Rental fee, 12 week period:
$1,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
10 free standing vinyl banners with pull-up stands

Running feet required:
500 feet (can be configured back to back, in a long hallway, or in groups)

Insurance Value:
$6,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials. Resource Summary of possible performers, scholars, and publication/digital materials

These programs are made possible in part by a grant from Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities; with additional support from the Michigan State University Museum and its the Great Lakes Traditions Endowment; the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress; the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures at the University of Wisconsin; the Association for Cultural Equality; and the Finlandia Foundation.

For more information:
Library of Congress Michigan 1938 homepage:
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/lomax/michiganproject.html Curator, MSU Museum) and Patricia Shehan Campbell and with funding from the Association for Cultural Equity.

Lesson plans featuring Lomax's 1938 Michigan (and Wisconsin) recordings, are available online at www.culturalequity.org under “Teacher Resources" were produced by Dr. Laurie Sommers (Adjunct Curator, MSU Museum) and Patricia Shehan Campbell and with funding from the Association for Cultural Equity.

Beat and Form in Wedding Dance Music Grade Level: 3-5; 6-8; 9-12
Activity #1: Finding the Beat and Form in pieces written in 2/4 and 4/4
Activity #2: Finding the beat and form with triple meter tunes
Activity #3: Concertinas/Button Accordions
Activity #4: Understanding Context: A Photographic Scavenger Hunt
Activity #5: Collecting Wedding Music

Michigan Miner’s Blues Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Activity #1: Miner’s Blues and Videos of Place
Activity #2: Photo Discovery of Michigan Copper Miners
Activity #3: Alan Lomax’s Field Notes and an Iron Ore Miner’s Story

"The Bigler": Take a Musical Tour with a Great Lakes Schoonerman Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Activity #1: Songs of the Schoonermen
Activity #2: Chart the Voyage of "The Bigler"
Activity #3: Take a Musical Tour of Your Community

“Dis-moi pourquoi, une?” Children’s Cumulative Songs Grade Level: 3-5
Activity #1: Exploring the Video
Activity #2: “Dis-moi pourquoi, une?” (“Tell Me Why, One?”) A French-Canadian Children’s Song
Activity #3: Cumulative Songs
Activity #4: Generational Learning

Old World Meets New: Shepherd’s Flute from the Former Yugoslavia Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Activity #1: Introducing the Instrument
Activity #2: Close Intervals
Activity #3: Migrating Music
Activity #4: Ethnic Music in Your School, Community, Region, State

Collaborative Songwriting about Local Places Grade Level: 6-8; 9-12; C-U
Activity #1: Learning to Listen/Listening to Learn
Activity #2: Oral Transmission and Variation
Activity #3: Collaborative Songwriting

The Gallagher Boys—The Story of a Great Lakes Ballad Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
Activity #1: Ballads as Story Songs
Activity #2: Ballads as Oral Poetry
Activity #3: Variation in Oral Tradition—Two Versions of the Gallagher Boys
Activity #4: Dominick Gallagher’s Story about the Story
Activity #5: What Really Happened to the Gallagher Boys—Writing Your Own Version
Activity #6: Relationship of Tune and Text

"Welfare Blues" Grade Level: 9-12, C/U
Activity #1: Southern Blues Comes North
Activity #2: "Welfare Blues" and Themes in Twentieth Century American History: Social Welfare in the 1930s
Activity #3: "Welfare Blues" and Themes in Twentieth Century American History: the Great Migration
Activity #4: Poetry of Hard Times
Activity #5: Chord Progressions
Activity #6: Musical Form
Activity #7: Blues Innovations

Lumberjack Music of Work and Play Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
Activity #1: Introduction to Lumberjack Ballads and Songs
Activity #2: Musical Instruments of the Lumberjacks
Activity #3: Contexts for Lumberjack Music Making
Activity #4: Alphabet Songs
Activity #5: Lumberjack Ballads—Working Through the Seasons of the Year
Activity #6: Learn More about Lumberjack Life—“Johnny Carroll’s Camp”

Meet Joe Cloud, Ojibwe Fiddler Grade Level: 9-12
Activity #1: What Do You Know about American Indian Music?
Activity #2: Meet Fiddler Joe Cloud of Odanah, Wisconsin
Activity #3: The European Tradition: “Devil’s Dream”
Activity #4: The American Indian Tradition: Squaw Dance

Michigan Quilt Project Blocks

Image of Laurel Wreath quilt block made by Carol Hartsell in 1987 "It was a great addition to our quilt show. As a matter of fact the blocks received 3 votes for viewers choice." —C.A.M.E.O. Quilt Guild, West Bloomfield, MI

"The MSU Museum quilt squares generated a lot of attention and very positive comments from our library customers. Your organization offers a wonderful service to public libraries and we are glad we have been able to take part in it." —Clinton Macomb Public Library, Macomb Township, MI

As part of the Michigan Quilt Project, Michigan State University Museum,with the help of quilters from all over the state, developed sets of quilt blocks to celebrate quilting in Michigan and to educate the public about quilting traditions. They are designed for hands-on learning or display in libraries, small museums, community centers, schools and other institutions. Each set of blocks is packaged in a small-size trunk, and includes the following:

30 oversized quilt blocks ready for hanging with accompanying object labels. The blocks include ones related to Michigan history and its cultural and natural resources.
A handbook of related educational activities.
A bibliography on quilting.
Instructions on how to care for and display your quilt in your home.
A sample Michigan Quilt Project inventory form.

Click here, for more information about the Michigan Quilt Project.

Schedule

No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

These educational quilt blocks have been used by the following organizations and individuals: Liz Antilla, Lexington, MI; Benzonia Area Historical Society, Frankfort, MI; Cameo Quilt Guild Quilt Show, International Academy, West Bloomfield, MI; Clinton-Macomb Public Library, Macomb Township, MI; Courthouse Square Association, Inc., Charlotte, MI; Marge Dickinson, Marquette, MI; Festival of MI Folklife Children's Activity Area, East Lansing, MI; Con Foster Museum, Traverse City, MI; Grand Ledge High School, Grand Ledge, MI; Grand Rapids Girls School, Grand Rapids, MI; Cathy Gruben, Port Huron, MI; H.H. Wiley Elementary School, Utica, MI; Historical Crossroads Village, Flint, MI; Iosco County Historical Museum, East Tawas, MI; James White Libra/Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI; Linda Kuhlman, Lansing, MI; Marquette Mission Park & Museum of Ojibway Culture, St. Ignace, MI; Mason County District Library, Ludington, MI; Michigan Quilt Network/Michigan State Fair, Detroit, MI; Napoleon Branch Library, Napoleon, MI; Oakland County 4-H Fair Pioneer Tent, Davisburg, MI; Orion Township Public Library, Lake Orion, MI; Rawson Memorial Library, Cass City, MI; Rochester Hills Museum, Rochester Hills, MI; Scottville Library, Scottville, MI; Shadbush Nature Center, Shelby Township, MI; Southfield Public Library, Southfield, MI; St. Gerard School, Lansing, MI; Trinity Christian School, Redford, MI; Troy Historical Museum, Troy, MI; Whalley Historical House, Flint, MI; Denise Wheat, Croswell, MI; Wolcott Mill Metropark, Shelby Township, MI; Orion Township Public Library, Lake Orion, MI; and CAMEO Quilt Show, Madison Heights, MI.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$100 plus shipping.

Number of pieces:
30 oversized quilt blocks with labels

Running feet required:
50 ft.

Insurance Value:
$1200

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials and quilt block coloring pages.

MSU American Indian Heritage Pow Wow Portraits:
Photographs by Douglas Elbinger

Photo of George Martin, Men's Traditional Dancer

Click here to see our on-line exhibition.

Historically, photographers have made posed, studio portraits of American Indians dressed in traditional clothing. These historical photographs provide an important record of aspects of tribal history. However, these portraits do not always accurately reflect information about the individual or the culture. The photographs within this exhibition offer a rare opportunity to see American Indians dressed in contemporary traditional regalia. Photographer Douglas Elbinger has been recognized as a leading source for the copy and restoration of historic photographs. He has worked with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Archives, as well as many other museums and historic societies across the country.

Schedule
This exhibit is unavailable until Mid May of 2020.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Auburn Hills, MI; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI; Kellogg Center, Michigan State University Campus, East Lansing, MI; Marquette Mission Park & Museum of Ojibway Culture, St. Ignace, MI; McCune Art Center, Petoskey, MI; Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; Montcalm Community College, Sidney, MI; Nokomis American Indian Cultural Learning Center, Okemos, MI; Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs, Detroit, MI; Gerald R. Ford Museum, Grand Rapids, MI; Hope College, Holland, MI; Estrella Mountain Community College, Avondale, AZ; Monroe County Community College, Monroe, MI; Schoolcraft College, Livonia, MI; Holden Hall, MSU, East Lansing, MI; and Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$600, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
21 framed color photographs

Running feet required:
80 to 100 ft.

Insurance Value:
$6,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Gallery guide; lectures; related publications for resale; photographic prints available for sale; press materials

Nda Maamawigaami (Together We Dance): Contemporary Great Lakes Pow Wow Regalia and other merchandise is available from the Michigan Traditional Arts Program Store.

This exhibition was coordinated by the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at the Michigan State University Museum with the collaboration and support of the MSU Native American Institute; MSU American Heritage Pow Wow Host Committee; Nokomis American Indian Cultural Learning Center; Michigan Festival, Inc. volunteers; Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI); Fellows of the 1993 NMAI/MSU Museum's American Indian Training Institute at the MSU Museum; Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs; Michigan State University Extension Service; Elizabeth Halsted Endowment for Traveling Exhibitions; and Douglas Elbinger of Elbinger Studios, Lansing, Michigan.

Rags, Rugs and Weavers: A Living Tradition

Click here to see installation photographs of the exhibition.

"This exhibit is of superb quality and has met our needs to support and promote the art of different ethnic backgrounds for our annual Festival of International Cultures.

This exhibit brought an educational opportunity to a relatively rural audience." —Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, MI

The process of weaving rags into useful household items came to Michigan with immigrants from northern Europe. Today, Finnish-Americans in the state's Upper Peninsula continue the tradition, weaving used clothing and other discarded textiles into colorful rugs. Rag rug weaving is a shared cultural activity in these communities. Materials donated by one person may be cut into rags or sewn into strips by another, woven into a rug by still another, and the finished rug purchased by yet another member of the community. Weavers often learn the craft from family members or neighbors, perfecting their techniques by trial and error.

Rags, Rugs and Weavers: A Living Tradition explores this textile tradition through the work of eight accomplished rag rug weavers. Rugs, descriptive panels, sample materials and tools, and photographs illustrate all aspects of rag rug weaving. Viewers follow the process from rag to rug and back to rag and learn how these weavers and others are keeping the tradition alive.

This exhibition is eligible for funding through the Michigan Humanities Council's Arts and Humanities Touring Program. For more information, click here.

Schedule

No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, MI; Finlandia University, Hancock, MI; Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, MI; Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, MI; Rogers Historical Museum, Rogers, AR; Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI; and Dane G. Hansen Museum, Logan, KS; and the Dane G. Hansen Museum, Logan, KS..

Rental fee (8-week period):
$2,500, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
25

Running feet required:
125 to 150 ft.

Insurance Value:
$9,000

Security requirement:
Lockable, limited access display area; experienced or museum-trained persons supervising exhibition during hours open to the public; exhibition area locked during closed hours; provisions to prevent the public from touching objects; experienced object handlers; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances

Additional materials available:
Press materials

This exhibition is a Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Traditional Arts Program activity supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Michigan Humanities Council, the Michigan State University Extension Service, and Beatrice and David Meyers.

To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions

Click here to see our on-line exhibition.

"If not for MSU [Museum's] work, most of our constituency would not have had the opportunity to be exposed to such culturally significant objects."
—Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, MI

"The spirit of the first people is being shown and shared with us. They surely honor their culture."

"You can feel the history and stories behind the quilts."

"Nice representation of Native American Work. Something for all ages."
—Visitor comments, Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, MI

"Not only beautiful, but also very educational and informative to our small native and non-native community here in Northeastern Wisconsin."
—Forest County Potawatomi Historical/Cultural center and Museum, Crandon, WI

"Makes me want to go to bed and cover up with a warm quilt."

"Loved every minute of looking at each and every beautiful quilt here. Very glad we came."

"I had no idea of the richness of Native quilts. Thank you."
—Visitor comments, Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Of the many North American Indian expressive art forms, perhaps one of the least well known is quiltmaking. This exhibition celebrates quilting within diverse communities and pays homage to the artists who have expressed their cultural heritage and creativity through this art. It examines how quilts and quilting-the ceremonies surrounding them, the society of the artists who make them, and the passing on of traditions through quilts- bind neighbors and families within and across generations.

Quiltmaking in Native communities was first learned through contact with Euro-Americans. Native peoples became adept at quilting and began to use quilts for purposes unique to their own cultures. Quilts have been used as bed and shelter coverings, infants' swing cradles, weather insulation, and as soft places to sit on the ground. In some communities, quilts play important roles in tribal ceremonies, such as in the honoring of individuals and as fund-raisers. Native quilters get their design ideas from many sources. Some quilters use the design motifs of their specific tribe or clan or use patterns and colors reflecting close spiritual ties to the natural world.

To Honor and Comfort is a small version of the larger, national touring exhibition of the same name, developed by the Michigan State University Museum and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. It is designed to meet the needs of smaller institutions which cannot accommodate the larger exhibition.

Schedule
This exhibit is unavailable until Mid May of 2020.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Forest County Potawatomi Cultural Center & Museum, Crandon, WI; Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center, Chadron State College, Chadron, NE; Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, Mashantucket, CT; Milwaukee County Historical Society, Milwaukee, WI; Southern Ute Indian Cultural Center, Ignacio, CO; Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, MI; Virginia Quilt Museum, Harrisonburg, VA; Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario, CANADA; and Comanche National Museum and Cultureal Center, Lawton, OK..

Rental fee (12 week period):
$5,000, plus climate controlled shipping

Number of pieces:
29

Running feet required:
300 running feet

Insurance Value:
$31,000

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions
(Interpretive Panel Version)

Photo of a Lakota Quilter stitching star blocks. Of the many North American Indian expressive art forms, perhaps one of the least well known is quiltmaking. This exhibition celebrates quilting within diverse communities and pays homage to the artists who have expressed their cultural heritage and creativity through this art. It examines how quilts and quilting-the ceremonies surrounding them, the society of the artists who make them, and the passing on of traditions through quilts- bind neighbors and families within and across generations.

To Honor and Comfort is a small version of the larger, national touring exhibition of the same name, developed by the Michigan State University Museum and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. This interpretive panel version is designed for lower security venues which are unable to accommodate either of the larger exhibitions. If a secure environment is provided, a quilt may also be made available for loan.

Schedule
No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Akwesasne Museum, Hogansburg, NY; DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Auburn Hills, MI; Dubois Annual Quilt Festival, Dubois, WY; and Montcalm Community College, Sidney, MI.

Rental fee (8-week period):
$1,500, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
16

Running feet required:
850 square feet, plus 200 linear feet of wall space

Additional materials available:
Press materials.

Redwork: A Textile Tradition in America

Photo of Blue Stars Flag quilt top made circa 1890. Click here to see the on-line exhibition

The exhibit explores the history and art of Redwork, a needlework technique that was especially popular in the United States between the 1880s and the 1920s. Redwork is a style of decorative needlework that consists of embroidering the outline of designs onto a white or off-white backgroung with a contrasting color of thread. Red thread is typically used in this style because the red color contrasts well against a light background. Also, during the nineteenth century when the style first became popular, artists could obtain a red thread that was "colorfast", meaning that the red coloring would not wash out or "bleed" onto the white fabric.

Redwork traces the cultural, social and technological factors that led to the development and dissemination of this textile tradition, in particular, how one cultural event, the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, stimulated popular engagement in this art form. By the late 1880s, patterns and designs were ubiquitous in national women's magazines, such as The Ladies Home Journal, newspapers and journals, and department and dry goods stores.

"Another result of the Redwork debut at the 1876 Centennial Expo was the formation of the New Your Society of Decorative Arts, which similar to its English counterpart, provided art training to increase women's employment opportunities at that time," notes Mary Worrall, MSU Museum assistant curator of Folk Arts. "Although textile artists around the world had long [decorated their needlework for their homes], making textiles solely for decorations became especially popular and prolific at this time," she adds. Redwork designs can still be found in some needlework magazines and stores today.

Deborah Harding, a textile historian, became interested in researching Redwork when she came across a quilt at a New York City flea market. Her subsequent extensive inquiry into the origins of this textile style resulted in Red & White: American Redwork Quilts and Patterns (2000), the first major monograph on the topic. In 2001, Michigan State University Museum acquired her research collection, which included notes, photographs, ephemera and examples of Redwork, including twelve quilts. These materials, added to the Museum's existing collection of Redwork and the subsequent pieces that Harding has donated, form a rich body of primary materials for many research projects.

Include in this exhibition is a sampling of the MSU Museum's collection of textiles that highlights the Redwork needlework technique. The exhibition draws heavily on objects, ephemera, and archival material from the Michigan State University Museum collections, in particular, the Deborah Harding Redwork Collection.

Schedule

No current bookings. This exhibit is available.

This exhibit appeared at the Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI.

Rental fee (12 week period):
$5,000, plus shipping

Number of pieces:
11 quilts, various textiles (clothing pillow shams) displaying Redwork, assorted ephemera

Running feet required:
100 running feet

Insurance Value:
$30,000

Additional materials available:
Press materials.