Preserving Memory Nears End

A lecture to complement Preserving Memory at the Maryland Historical Society helped keep the “public” in public art. The exhibit was a springboard to discuss artist Jonathan Borofsky’s Male/Female, a new sculpture at Baltimore’s Penn Station. Nearly 100 people attended to voice praise for and concerns about the new work of art.

The tour of Preserving Memory: America’s Monumental Legacy, a traveling exhibit funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, is coming to a close. In 2004, it was featured at 18 venues in 12 states and the District of Columbia:

1111 Sculpture Space, Washington, DC
Boarman Arts Center, Martinsburg, WV
Museum of Nebraska History, Lincoln, NE
Ford Conservation Center, Omaha, NE
Barrington High School, Barrington, IL
New Mexico State University Museum, Las Cruces, NM
Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX
Arcadia Historical Museum, Arcadia, CA
Farmount Cemetery, Denver, CO
Cypress Lawn Cemetery, Colma, CA
Shelton Historical Society, Shelton, CT
West Virginia Independence Hall Museum, Wheeling, WV
Town of Prescott Valley, Prescott Valley, AZ
Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, Pyramid Hill, OH
Hartsville Museum, Hartsville, SC
National Center for Preservation Training and Technology, Natchitoches, LA
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, MD.

Over 300 people attended the Preserving Memory exhibition at the Prescott Valley Civic Center in Arizona. The exhibit complemented the Center’s rotating exhibit of outdoor sculptures created by local artists.

A number of venues used the exhibit to call attention to sculptures in their communities. Each exhibit featured a panel unique to the host's state, featuring a sculpture in the state. Generally, that was the panel visitors said they most enjoyed.

Hosts could receive additional funding for public programming in conjunction with the exhibit. Programs varied from an adult lecture at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore to a family sculpture day in Hartsville, South Carolina.

The exhibit’s final venue will be Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland in April 2005; walking tours of the site’s sculpture and monuments will complement the exhibition. SOS! is considering making the exhibition available for a small fee to cover costs. Please contact Jill White at sos!@heritagepreservation.org for more information.

Check out the exhibit's schedule and home page.

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