The mindfully engaging and culturally relevant Museum of Us has inspired SAASC to highlight this institution for our next installment of Archives of the Month. The museum recently changed its name (previously known as the Museum of Man). The constantly changing temporary exhibits are applicable to present-day societal issues and are inclusive of marginalized communities. There is always something new to see and explore! “The Museum of Us is a place for the diverse stories that define us—especially those that have long been overlooked or silenced by dominant cultural narratives. Our mission is to inspire human connections by exploring the human experience, and support guests in becoming agents of positive change”. The next time you find yourself in San Diego, California, we would encourage you to go visit MU. Its “immersive exhibit experiences create active and sensory-exciting encounters where people can be expressive about personal, cultural, and societal topics”.
Right now, you have multiple exhibits to discover including Post-Secret: an ongoing community mail art project by Frank Warren inviting people around the world to anonymously send in their worries, hopes, and fears via postcard which has created a very relatable and intimate collection. You can also see Maya Peoples: Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth. “Developed in collaboration with Maya community consultants, this exhibit provides a new way to understand the histories of the Maya Peoples and to honor past, present, and future Maya generations”. It features two beautiful murals titled K’AJLAY SUUM (Thread of Memory in K’iche’) and B’ATZ’AL Q’IJ (Thread of Time in K’iche’) created by Alicia Maria Siu.
The OAC, or Online Archive of California, lists some exciting archival collections that are a part of MU’s limited archives and are available to view by appointment. The Abbie Boutelle Papers Collection encompasses Native American research texts, photographs, and descriptions of Native American baskets Boutelle bequeathed to the MU in 1928. The San Diego Natural History Museum Collection is a total of 121 negatives from 8 different photographers which features images taken in and around San Diego, CA and Baja California in Mexico. The Museum of Us archives would be a great place to explore for unique historical research!
As always, if you are interested in becoming a member of SAASC, you can find out more here. Please let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions for future Archives blogs or activities you would like to see SAASC offer! We would love to hear from you via the SAASC Group Discussion on Canvas, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, or you can email us directly at SJSUSAASC@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!
References:
The Museum of Us. (2023). Maya peoples: Heart of sky, heart of earth. [website]. https://museumofus.org/exhibits/maya-peoples-heart-of-sky-heart-of-earth
The Museum of Us. (2023). Mission and values. [website]. https://museumofus.org/mission-and-values
OAC. (n.d.). Museum of Us. [website]. https://oac.cdlib.org/institutions/Museum+of+Us