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Posted December 23, 2008 Check out what the MOQ had to say about the Cemetery Symposium Winter Staples The new issue is filled with toasty words gathered together in cozy sentences for your winter reading pleasure, best enjoyed with a steamy mug of malty Assam tea with lots of milk and honey, unless you prefer coffee, or perhaps a glass of claret after dinner. Here’s what you have to look forward to in this issue, in addition to the serene painting by Megan Moore that graces the cover. Read our Q&A with the artist here. As usual, we’ll post some of these articles on the Web in the coming weeks, but to read them all, you’ll need a paper-and-ink copy. Cemeteries Unburied
During a symposium at the Hennepin County History Museum, fans of local history and cemeteries swap stories and preservation tips. "Outside the Hennepin History Museum on a Saturday in November it's sunny and pleasant. Inside, the ambiance is equally warm and cheery, especially considering that on this day the museum is hosting its second Cemetery Symposium. But the two dozen or so that are gathered here are not so much fans of the macabre, though they may lean that way just a little, as they are local history buffs and ardent preservationists." ... Find out how to view the article in print, http://www.mplsobserver.com/node/1284 Posted September 11, 2008 You’re invited to the Annual Membership Gala! Please join the Hennepin History Museum Saturday, September 27th, 6–9 p.m., for a cruise down the Mississippi River on the Minneapolis Queen paddlewheel. There will be a silent auction, sumptous hors d’oeuvres, and scenic narration by local author and historian, Deborah Morse-Kahn. Members: $40.00 for individuals $75.00 for couples Non-Members: $50.00 for individuals $90.00 for couples The cruise is rain or shine, and there will be a full cash bar. The port is Boom Island, and we will begin boarding at 5:45 p.m. Please R.S.V.P. by September 18th, 2008 at 612.870.1329 or museum.info@hennepinhisotry.org Posted August 28, 2008 Annual Membership Gala Join us this September on the Mississippi Queen River Boat September 27, 2008! Watch for details and reservation information in this month's Hennepin History Magazine! Posted June 27, 2008 Summer Archivist's Hours The Hennepin History Museum's archivist Susan Larson-Fleming has altered hours throughout the summer months, due to increased public outreach. The hours of our archives will remain unchanged, but please note that if you need help with a specfici project, it is best to either e-mail your request to Susan or call ahead to be certain that she will be in that day. Thank you! Posted March 28, 2008 Archaeology Week The Hennepin History Museum will have a variety of archaeological artifacts from around Hennepin County, on display throughout the month of May. Learn about how an archaeologist discovers the date of an artifact, and what those artifacts tell us.
You will see artifacts ranging from pre-contact Native American ceramics, to turn of the century pharmacy bottles found in backyards. Check the Calendar of Events tab for a schedule of upcoming archaeology week events here at the Hennepin History Museum. Please join us in celebrating Archaeology Week 2008! Posted March 13, 2008 2008 Mosaic The Hennepin History Museum's exhibits will be featured in this year's Mosaic Calendar! The mission of Minneapolis MOSAIC is to celebrate the richness and diversity of the arts and cultures of Minneapolis through a summer-long celebration beginning in June. The success of Minneapolis MOSAIC is realized by accomplishing four goals:
Presenting events to showcase the rich diversity of music, dance, theater, the visual arts, film and the literary arts in Minneapolis.
Promoting and increasing the visibility of the broad range of cultural and arts organizations and events in Minneapolis to both local and regional audiences
Fostering opportunities to develop new relationships and build bridges between the wide variety of arts organizations and cultural groups in Minneapolis
Encouraging our diverse community to experience a wide spectrum of cultural and artistic activities in Minneapolis
Minneapolis MOSAIC's first four years were very successful. Each year more than 100 culturally diverse events have been a part of the celebrations in June, July and August.
Posted December 18, 2007 New prices in 2008 As 2008 approaches HHM is gearing up for a strong year of new programming opportunities and an emphasis on expanding who we are as an organization; we wish to reach more people in the county than ever before. We have our sights set on strengthening our educational progams and putting an even greater effort into preserving our valuable collection, which grows larger every day. We will be increasing our admission prices beginning February 2008, from $4 for adults to $5 for adults. We appreciate your continued support as we strive to become a stronger precense in the community. Please don't hesitate to call us and let us know what we can do to reach you and your part of the community. Thank you! Posted December 5, 2007 Check us out on Minnesota Public Radio On December 5, 2007, the Hennepin History Museum was featured on Minnesota Public Radio on Morning Edition with Marianne Combs. Below is the article as posted on the Minnesota Public Radio Webpage. Photographer puts the present in the past
by Marianne Combs, Minnesota Public Radio
December 4, 2007
A Minneapolis artist is giving new life to objects which have sat tucked away on the shelves of a local museum for years.
"St. Paul, Minn. — Artist Tim Piotrowski is a period photographer. For years Piotrowski has been taking and printing photographs, inspired by images of women from both the 19th and early 20th centuries. He especially likes poses that might have been risque at the time, but seem wholesome and innocent compared to ads in today's fashion magazines. He uses special paper and printing materials to capture the soft edges and sepia tones of the old pictures.
"Portrait of Miss Caitlin Percy ...""If I hit a picture, that even I, after looking at lots of period images, if I hit one that could fool me if I didn't know better, then I really feel like I've done something. It's like my time machine camera."
Often Piotrowski's biggest challenge is finding garments and props to make a complete and accurate picture. So you can imagine Piotrowski's reaction when the Hennepin History Museum in Minneapolis contacted him and asked him if he'd like access to it's historical garment collection.
"I hadn't dared even dream of such a thing as that," says Piotrowski. "I never thought that I'd have an opportunity like this. So when it came up I'd like to say that it's out of my wildest dreams, but it's really not; I hadn't even fantasized about it."
Photographer Timothy PiotrowskiJada Hansen is executive director of the Hennepin History Museum. She says the museum only gave Piotrowski access to pieces of clothing and other objects that weren't too fragile to be handled or worn. She sees it as a way of extending their value.
"No matter how hard we try to keep them around, no matter what kind of archive boxes we put them in, they simply won't be around forever," says Hansen. "So this does sort of allow them to go forward a little bit, and not just sit in a box and waste away without anybody ever enjoying it."
Hansen says the Hennepin History Museum knew of Piotrowski's work, and they also knew that by day he works as a security guard at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. So they felt comfortable trusting him with pieces from the collection.
Exhibiting period clothingAt a recent photo shoot, Piotrowski guides a hip young 21st century model in how to apply make-up that will make her look like she's from another time. He poses women on chairs, or has them driving period cars. Often they're depicted helping each other dress, as would be common in the Victorian age.
"The biggest challenge with Victorian clothes has been to find sitters small enough for them," says Piotrowski. "They're so small! Some of the shoes I would have needed children to photograph in order to get them on them."
Piotrowski says working with the clothing from the Museum's extensive collection has been an honor, and allowed him to create scenes and images he could never have done if he had to rent all the items from a costumer.
"Forward looking Victorian women 1875"Hennepin History Museum Curator Jack Kabrud is in large part responsible for the museum's extensive clothing collection. He says the results of the collaboration with photographer Tim Piotrowski has led to great things for both the artist and the museum. "There's a tremendous difference in seeing these beautiful pieces on living people. There's no question about it and it did change my perspective," says Kabrud. "I believe the families that contributed these pieces would be happy to see that they've been used in such a beautiful way to promote our history, their history and art in our community as well."
The exhibition of Tim Piotrowski's photographs runs at the Hennepin History Museum through next spring. The photos have been hung next to displays of the items used in the photographs. Once the exhibit closes, one set of prints will become a part of the museums permanent collection."
Broadcast Dates
Morning Edition, 12/04/2007, 7:24 a.m.
Posted October 25, 2007 Looking for an end-of-year write off? The Hennepin History Museum is a 501 (C)(3) organization and is tax deductible to the fullest extend of the law, which means as January approaches we would love to receive your charitable monetary and in-kind donations. Please take a look at our Wish List page to see how you can help us out. We are in need of generosity this season at a variety of levels, whether you can help us with the expenses associated with conserving a historic painting or can only afford to donate a few reams of paper, anything helps. We appreciate your taking the time click on the Wish List tab and letting us know how you can help us to reach our mission to promote an understanding of the relationship between Hennepin County's past, present and its contemporary suburban, urban, and rural communities through collecting, preserving and interpreting the county's history. Thank you! Posted September 26, 2007 The Hennepin History Museum says goodbye to one of its own On September 15, we received the sad news that one of our past museum directors, Donna Lind, had passed away. Donna was the Director here for many years leading up to the early 1980s, at which time she left the museum, but did not leave the pursuit of historic preservation. While here at HHM she was well known for her presentations on the Bohemian Flats, immigrant community (by today's Seward neighborhood), as well as many other things. The following is the obituary as it ran on-line on September 17, 2007, in the Star Tribune. A longer and more detailed account can be found in a back copy of the paper itself. "Donna Mae Lind, Age 75 of Fridley and Aitkin on September 15, 2007. Preceded in death by husband, Harold Lind and brother, Frank Swensrud. She will be deeply missed by sisters, Jean Harvego and Joan Peterson; children, Stephen (Veronica), David, Karen (Tom) and Scott; and grandchildren, Breanna, Matt, Stephanie, Jesse, Nikki and Michael. A mother and grandmother first, Donna also enjoyed a career in historic preservation serving professionally as Director of the Hennepin County Historical Society and privately as the restorer and owner of Prairie Gard, a farm on the National Register of Historical Places. Funeral service 11 AM Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at St. Philip's Lutheran Church, 6180 N.E. Highway 65, Fridley (763-571-1500). Visitation 6-9 PM Tuesday evening at the Miller Funeral Home, 6210 N.E. Highway 65, Fridley and in church Wednesday, one hour prior to service. Interment Hillside Cemetery, Mpls. Miller Funeral Home Fridley Chapel 763-571-1300"
Published in the Star Tribune on 9/17/2007.
Posted August 27, 2007 Meet the newest member of the HHM family! On August 9th, 2007, we welcomed Krista Haubrich to the Hennepin History Museum. Krista will now be working at the front desk as a Museum Administrative Assistant, welcoming patrons to the HHM while she educates and is educated in Hennepin County history. She has already made evident that she is a great addition to the team and brings with her a healthy knowledge of computer software and graphic design skills. Come by and welcome Krista to the museum next time you're in the neighborhood, I'm sure she'll be happy to fill you in our latest exhibits! Posted August 3, 2007 Get your Reseach Requests in Early! The HHM Archivist, Susan Larson-Fleming will be out of the office from August 14 through August 20, 2007. Susan will happily fill all of the research requests that come in up until that date, so if you are able to anticipate materials that you will need please let her know as early as possible. The research library will still remain open as usual and the Curator and Museum Assistant, will both be able to pull materials when neccessary, but some of the more difficult requests may not be completly filled until Susan returns on August 31st. Thank you for your patience with this matter. To contact Susan please e-mail her at Posted July 11, 2007 A Temporary Change to our Hours Starting Tuesday July 17, 2007 the museum will be undergoing a few changes, and we ask that you bear with us while we transition. Our Administrative Assistant, Earl Ross, will be leaving us for greener pastures on Saturday July 14. Earl has always been very popular with the visitors to HHM and he has been most appreciated by the staff for his ability to successfully aid visitor’s in the research library. We hope you will be able to stop by and wish him luck in his endeavors before he leaves. While we are training a new person to take over Earl's duties, we may have to close the library on the occasional Saturday (the museum galleries will not be affected by the change), we will be sure and post this on our website's "Library and Collections" page on the days when we must close. If you have research needs that you are able to anticipate, feel free to contact Susan Larson-Fleming, our archivist, and she will have resources pulled for you ahead of time. Susan is in the library and is available during museum hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Posted July 6, 2007 Check out the Rake! The Hennepin History Museum has placed an advertisement in the Twin Cities publication, the Rake. Turn to page 24 to see our latest exhibit, "Gardener in the Wild: Eloise Butler-Her Life and Work," covering 1/3 of the page. We will also be in the August edition, so be sure and keep an eye out for our next exhibit, which opens in September....you'll have to wait to see what it is (here's a hint: there will be unique medical devices). Updated July 3, 2007 HHM is Now Seeking Applications for New Board of Directors Members Do you have an interest in history, museums, or non-profits in general? Do you feel that you have a skill set that would be valuable to our organization? We are presently expanding the size of our board of directors and we are asking the Hennepin History Museum membership to come forward first. You are the people that have nurtured us from our first days in 1938, through to the present. Please have an interest in Hennepin County and learning how to advance our mission. For more information contact Jada Hansen at (612) 870-1329 or jada.hansen@hennepinhistory.org. HHM Thanks Commissioner Gail Dorfman
The staff and board of directors of the Hennepin History Museum wish to acknowledge and thank Hennepin County's Third District Commissioner Gail Dorfman for her continued support of the history of Hennepin County. Without the support of Commissioner Dorfman we would not be able to bring our programs and exhibits out into the metropolitan community and keep our galleries and archives open. Commissioner Dorfman has done Hennepin County a great service. With additional funds that we have received from the county we are able to move into 2007 with an Executive Director, which is something that we have been without for 15 years. Our vision is to make our appeal broader, make our programs more accessible to Hennepin County's communities, and increase our ability to further our mission to promote an understanding of the relationship between Hennepin County's past and present and its contemporary suburban, urban, and rural communities through collecting, preserving and interpreting the county's history. |
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