Homefront & Battlefield | Suited for Space
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June 30, 2012 – November 25, 2012
This year marks the beginning of the American Civil War one hundred fifty years ago. ATHM will contribute to our nationwide conversation about the Civil War and its legacy through a traveling exhibition, Homefront & Battlefield: Quilts & Context in the Civil War. With a generous planning grant from the Coby Foundation in hand, the museum has been hard at work on the project, preparing for a 2012 opening here in Lowell. Guest curators Lynne Bassett and Madelyn Shaw have selected approximately 150 artifacts and graphic reproductions to be included in the exhibition, and they are nearing completion of their manuscripts for the accompanying book to be published by University Press of New England.
Homefront & Battlefield will use quilts, textiles, clothing, and other artifacts to connect deeply moving and insightful personal stories (private memory) about the war, its causes, and its aftermath with the broader national context (public history). Textiles were integral to the Civil War—physically, economically, ideologically, and emotionally—and linked soldiers and civilians. The exhibition and book build on recent scholarship in social and economic history to tell of the events that led to the war, the stories of men and women affected by the Civil War, and the opportunities and challenges that followed it. The project is intended to encourage visitors to view the war not in isolation or through stereotypes and simplifications, but in its complicated and uneasy place in the context of American history. Through a wealth of artifacts drawn from around the nation, each with a strong provenance and embodying project themes, audiences will be able to see and acknowledge the human experiences beneath the veneer of Blue and Gray.
Support for Homefront & Battlefield was provided by grants from Mass Humanities, The Coby Foundation, and the Stockman Family Foundation Trust.
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December 15, 2012 – March 3, 2013
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy stated the United States would land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the decade. To achieve this ambitious goal, astronauts would need not only a spacecraft to launch them safely into space, but a spacesuit that would protect them as well. Without the proper clothing to keep them alive while traveling, living and working beyond the bonds of Earth, space exploration was not possible.
ATHM will host "Suited for Space", a new exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition (SITES) and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, explores the evolution of spacesuit development from the first quarter of the 20th century until the dawn of the shuttle era.
The exhibition features large-scale photographs of suits worn by astronauts from Project Mercury through the Skylab program as well as suits used in testing and training. The photographs featured in Suited for Space were taken by Smithsonian photographer Mark Avino. In addition, Avino, in collaboration with Ronald Cunningham produced new X-ray images that provide a unique view of the interiors of the spacesuits. While the fragility of these spacesuits prevents them from traveling, the exhibition will feature a replica Apollo spacesuit on loan from NASA and 10 objects from the National Air and Space Museum’s collection, including a glove, a boot and helmets. Avino’s photographs provide a visual timeline of the spacesuits’ development over the years.
Learn more information about Suited for Space >>
April 6, 2013 – August 11, 2013
Full description coming soon.
from Wednesday-Sunday, 10am - 5pm We look forward to seeing you!
