Traveling Exhibits
The Network offers traveling exhibits to members and member affiliates.
Each exhibit may be reserved for 2-4 weeks at a time (pending availability) and consists of retractable stand posters for display, designed to complement detailed New York Heritage exhibitions found online.
See below for current offerings and click the link to reserve an exhibit.
Akwesasne Creation Story Exhibit
This display, loaned thanks to the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System, depicts The Haudenosaunee Creation Story with 11 prints of art (20″ x 24″) illustrated by John Fadden and colorized by his son, David Fadden of the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center. The art exhibit is available as metal prints with wire hangers or as foam boards with easels.
Each art piece has an English text description of the story depicted, and French translations are available. The artists’ biographies are available in two options: a retractable banner or an acrylic sign holder.
Americans Who Tell the Truth Portrait Exhibit
Thanks to a partnership with John Brown Lives! and Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System, this exhibit features up to 23 laminated 11″ x 14″ poster reproductions of selected portraits from artist Robert Shetterly’s series, Americans Who Tell the Truth, which has been traveling the country since 2003. Organizations may request display stands, if desired, as well as the number of prints that best fits their space.
Shetterly’s portraits celebrate individuals whose courage, activism, and imagination have shaped American democracy. Portraits include James Baldwin, John Brown, Sherri Mitchell Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset, Harriet Tubman, and more. See the full list below. Over the past two decades, Shetterly has collaborated with many of the people he has painted, deepening the project’s connection to contemporary social and humanitarian movements.
The traveling exhibit includes an interactive component: each portrait features a QR code linking to a short biography of the subject, inviting viewers to reflect on their life stories and the issues they championed. In partnership with OurStoryBridge, additional QR codes will soon connect viewers to audio interviews with some of the portrait subjects.
Full list of portraits:
Erie Canal Bicentennial Exhibit
“Two Hundred Years on the Erie Canal” was developed by the Western New York Library Resources Council, with grant funding from Humanities New York, to celebrate the Bicentennial groundbreaking of the Erie Canal in New York State.
The physical exhibit consists of four retractable banners, each measuring 3 feet wide by 6 feet tall.
Immigration in New York Exhibit
Immigrants built a vibrant, diverse, and modern New York State. However, the arrival of European immigrants was also incredibly disruptive. Our history bears those imprints, as well as many more positive outcomes. Immigrants have come to New York for many reasons: to escape persecution, to improve their economic outlook, and to build new lives. This exhibit focuses on historic immigration to New York State from 1650 to 1950, beginning with the arrival of Dutch settlers and continuing through the end of the World Wars.
This exhibition was curated by David Hochfelder (SUNY University at Albany) and Karen Pastorello (SUNY Tompkins Cortland Community College), with project management and additional contributions from Julia Corrice (Cornell University), Claire Lovell (SCRLC), Ryan Perry (CLRC), Nicole Menchise (LILRC), and Heidi Ziemer (WNYLRC).
The physical exhibit consists of four retractable banners, each measuring 33 inches wide by 7 feet tall.
Recognizing Women’s Right to Vote in New York State Exhibit
“Recognizing Women’s Right to Vote in New York State” celebrates a hundred years of women having the right to vote in New York State. This exhibit was developed by the South Central Regional Library Council, with grant support from Humanities New York. The traveling exhibit explores different aspects of the Women’s Suffrage movement in New York, from pre-colonial times until the New York State referendum in 1917 and the 19th Amendment in 1920.
The exhibit consists of five retractable banners, each measuring 3 feet wide by 6 feet tall.
Urban Renewal Exhibit
On July 15, 1949, President Harry Truman signed into law the Housing Act of 1949. He promised “decent homes in wholesome surroundings for low-income families now living in the squalor of the slums.” However, in its 25 years of existence, the federal urban renewal or “slum clearance” program failed to meet Truman’s objective. Ninety-one villages, towns, and cities undertook about 250 projects in New York.
The physical exhibit consists of four retractable banners, each measuring 34 inches wide by 82 inches tall.
Image from Erie Canal Exhibit
Immigration in New York Physical Exhibit
Urban Renewal Physical Exhibit
Recognizing Women’s Right to Vote in New York State Exhibit Poster
(1 panel out of 5)
Images from Haudenosaunee Creation Story Exhibit