GREENSBORO, NC (August 3, 2021) – The Greensboro History Museum’s Pieces of Now: Murals, Masks, Community Stories and Conversations has received two more national awards, this time from the American Alliance of Museums. Pieces of Now won the Media & Technology MUSE Gold Award in Research and Innovation with the judges stating, “Powerful, impactful project that deals with difficult contemporary subject matter in a sensitive way by ‘stepping aside’ and letting community voices be heard. The platforms and online programming meet audience needs in a great example of co-curation and community collecting best practices.” The project also won the Silver Award for 2020 Response.
The Piece of Now project was developed in response to the events of May/June 2020 and contains robust digital content and programming. There are three aspects of this project–documentation and preservation, the physical exhibition Pieces of Now: Murals, Masks, Community Stories and Conversations and online public/educational programming, including a virtual exhibit tour.
Greensboro History Museum Director Carol Ghiorsi Hart says, “Pieces of Now was developed in response to the events of May and June 2020 and the community’s need to be heard. Museum staff began gathering stories and actively programming around our community’s response to the murder of George Floyd and continuing racial injustice. This included material culture related to the protests and large murals that went up in Greensboro. As we collected and talked to protesters, artists and business owners, it was clearly important to our African American community that they see these items on exhibit in the city’s history museum.”
The museum staff has worked closely with members of the community, particularly artists, in a collaborative effort to collect and document this time for future generations and provide a place for community conversation. Pieces of Now is also a call to action for members of the community to add their voices and fill in the missing pieces of Greensboro’s story of the history that is happening now.
Museum Director Hart notes that, “This is a unique museum exhibition because it is in the moment, incomplete and with minimal interpretation. Visitors will largely see and hear the voices of the artists and participants. We are working with members of the community and our visitors, who are the experts of their own lives, to help us make sure we are capturing the current moment from a variety of perspectives.”
Pieces of Now remains on view through November 2021. More about the exhibition and a virtual tour can be found online.
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