Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum announces opening of Forgotten Gateway exhibit
February 10, 2009 – 1:25 pmExhibition Covers History of Galveston Island as a Trans Oceanic Port of Immigration and the Socioeconomic Impact of Immigrants on Texas Between 1845 and 1924
The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum announced today, the opening of Forgotten Gateway, on Saturday, February 21st. This new traveling exhibit chronicles The Port of Galveston’s largely forgotten history as a major gateway to American immigration from 1845 to 1924. Forgotten Gateway builds on a growing scholarly and public interest in the history of migration patterns to America and Galveston’s place (as one of the nation’s top immigrant ports) in that history.
“This is the first time that Galveston’s legacy as a port of entry has been fully explored on a national scale,” said Nashid Madyun, director of the Texas State History Museum. “Everyone knows the role that Ellis Island played in American history. Few people know that long before Ellis Island processed its first immigrant, Galveston had been the port of entry to hundreds of thousands of people who helped settle Texas and the American Midwest. Texas’ growth and development would have been very different without the impact of immigrants who came through Galveston.”
While New York’s Ellis Island’s location made it a natural port for Europeans, Galveston attracted a diverse group of people from Europe, Mexico, South and Central America and even Asia. In addition, before the Civil War, it was a major port for forced migration -– the sale and transport of slaves from Africa and other points in the United States to Texas.
The exhibit highlights enduring humanities themes in the history of immigration including: the dangers of the journey; making a life in a new land; navigating bureaucracy; confronting discrimination; and becoming “American.” These trials and tribulations are illuminated through personal stories, dynamic visitor interactive kiosks, engaging media pieces, and more than 200 original artifacts and documents.
Forgotten Gateway was truly a team effort, involving literally dozens of collaborating partners within the Museum, the city, and the entire country. The guest curator and visionary for the exhibit is Dr. Suzanne Seriff, a museum consultant and anthropologist, and Sr. Lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin. She brought the idea for the project to the Museum in response to a comment from a 10th-grader she had chaperoned on a heritage trip to Ellis Island. “Why do we need to go to New York,” asked the student. “My grandparents came through Galveston.”
In addition to Seriff, a team of humanities scholars — archeologists, historians, anthropologists, designers, novelists, evaluators — advised on content every step of the way, as did a group of community partners who met quarterly throughout the planning period of the exhibit. In addition, the Museum worked with over 40 collaborating arts and culture institutions throughout the Greater Austin area to develop original art, film, theatre, and cultural events which will premier around the city during the exhibit’s ten month run in Austin. Forgotten Gateway will remain in Austin until October 2009 when it will then begin its journey to museums around Texas and the country.
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.