Preservation Long Island, in cooperation with the Museum Association of New York (MANY), continues its exploration of “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America,” a Smithsonian traveling exhibition that opened last month at their Cold Spring Harbor gallery — the first stop in New York state. A series of local exhibition-related programming and events developed by Preservation Long Island and community partners will continue during the run of the exhibition. “Voices and Votes” will be on view through May 3, 2024.
Exhibition-related community events and programs scheduled in April include:
- Voter Registration Days with The League of Women Voters
Representatives from the Huntington Chapter of the League of Women Voters will be stationed in the gallery from 12-2pm over several days to share resources with “Voices and Votes” exhibition visitors. April 13, 20 and 24 at Preservation Long Island Exhibition Gallery
- Scholar Lecture with Historian David Waldstreicher, PhD
Explores the poetry and public voices of two published Black poets of eighteenth-century America, Phillis Wheatley and Jupiter Hammon, highlighting their lives and work, politics, relationship to each other, and their legacies. April 18 at Cold Spring Harbor Library
- Curator-Led Exhibition Tour
Preservation Long Island Curator, Lauren Brincat, will guide visitors through the “Voices and Votes” exhibition that explores the origins of American democracy from the revolution and suffrage to civil rights and casting ballots. April 21 at Preservation Long Island Exhibition Gallery
- Oral History Project
Preservation Long Island in collaboration with Our Story Bridge invites participants from the local community to share stories that contribute to a deeper understanding of our shared Long Island history. Ongoing. Sign-up online to participate: https://preservationlongisland.org/oral-history-project/
View the “Voice and Votes” exhibition full programming schedule: https://preservationlongisland.org/voices-and-votes/
Preservation Long Island, a regional not-for-profit organization headquartered in Cold Spring Harbor that maintains and interprets historic sites and collections pertaining to Long Island’s history, was chosen by MANY to be the first venue in New York State to host “Voices and Votes” as part of the Museum on Main Street project—a national/state/local partnership to bring exhibitions and programs to small town and rural cultural organizations. After it leaves Cold Spring Harbor in May, the exhibition will travel to twelve communities across New York through January 2026 before it returns to the Smithsonian: https://nysmuseums.org/Project-Participants-and-Host-Sites.
“Voices and Votes” takes a broad look at the nearly 250-year-old American experiment of a government “of, by and for the people.” From the revolution and suffrage, to civil rights and casting ballots, everyone in every community is part of this ever-evolving story—the story of democracy in America. Exhibition sections explore the origins of American democracy, the struggles to obtain and keep the vote, the machinery of democracy, the right to petition and protest beyond the ballot and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. The exhibition includes a section that incorporates art and artifacts drawn from Preservation Long Island and other local collections.
Unveiled at the exhibition opening reception in March was a community quilt commissioned by Preservation Long Island and sponsored by a local quilting and crafts shop that encouraged participants to reflect on the past and what democracy meant to them. “The quilt’s concept and design was inspired by a Civil War-era example in our collection now on view as part of the companion exhibition, Democracy on Long Island, that connects our local history with the larger story of American democracy,” said Lauren Brincat, Preservation Long Island Curator.
“We are very pleased with the community’s reaction thus far to ‘Voices and Votes’,” said Alexandra Wolfe, Preservation Long Island Executive Director. People from across Long Island are coming to see the exhibition. It’s great exposure for our gallery and the surrounding communities of Cold Spring Harbor and Huntington. And our public programs such as the Community Quilt Project have been extremely popular and well-received.”
Support
A New Agora for New York: Museums as Spaces for Democracy” has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Voices and Votes is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum Association of New York. Additional support has been provided by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
Support for MoMS in New York State has been provided by the United States Congress, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. To learn more visit museumonmainstreet.org, sites.si.edu, or nysmuseums.org.
About Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 65 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. For exhibition description and tour schedules, visit sites.si.edu.
About Preservation Long Island
Preservation Long Island is a not-for-profit organization that works with Long Islanders to raise awareness, appreciation, and support for the protection of our shared past through advocacy, education, and the stewardship of historic sites and collections. http://preservationlongisland.org
Preservation Long Island maintains and interprets historic sites and collections that embody various aspects of Long Island’s history including:
Joseph Lloyd Manor, Lloyd Harbor http://preservationlongisland.org/joseph-lloyd-manor/
Custom House, Sag Harbor http://preservationlongisland.org/custom-house/
Sherwood-Jayne Farm, Setauket http://preservationlongisland.org/sherwood-jayne-farm/
Old Methodist Church and Exhibition Gallery http://preservationlongisland.org/methodist-church/
About the Museum Association of New York
The Museum Association of New York is the only statewide museum service organization with more than 750 member museums, historical societies, zoos, botanical gardens, and aquariums. MANY helps shape a better future for museums and museum professionals by uplifting best practices and building organizational capacity through advocacy, training, and networking opportunities. Visit www.nysmuseums.org and follow MANY on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn @nysmuseums.
