Bard College Students Premiere Online Exhibition at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, May 8

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Three Bard College students will premiere an online exhibition, Eleanor Roosevelt: "We Make Our Own History," on Friday, May 8, at 4 p.m. at the Val-Kill Playhouse, the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York. The event is sponsored by the Eleanor Roosevelt–Val-Kill Partnership and Bard’s Center for Civic Engagement. Based on research conducted at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Val-Kill, the student exhibits include archival, print, and digital online resources. This exhibition is part of a course taught by Cynthia Koch, who is public historian in residence at Bard. In Koch’s public history practicum, Eleanor Roosevelt: "We Make Our Own History," each student prepared an individual exhibit that contributes to the overall exhibition, which will be available through the Bard Library at http://omekalib.bard.edu/exhibits/show/before_bard and the website of the Eleanor Roosevelt-Val-Kill Partnership www.honoringeleanorroosevelt.org. For more information, please contact Cynthia Koch at [email protected]. During the premiere, each student will conduct a virtual curator’s tour of her or his exhibit. Refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public.

Clara Allison ’18, who plans to major in human rights, took the title of her exhibition, “Trousers Won’t Do the Trick”: Eleanor Roosevelt and Feminism from Mrs. Roosevelt’s own words: “No, I have never wanted to be a man. I have often wanted to be more effective as a woman, but I have never felt that trousers would do the trick!” (If You Ask Me, 1940). The exhibit examines Mrs. Roosevelt’s views on working women, women, politics, and policy, and includes brief biographies of some of the women she worked closely with in support of various reform issues. Allison also uses Mrs. Roosevelt’s example to assess the future of feminism.

John Ohrenberger ’16, an art history major, curated Eleanor Roosevelt: Patron Saint of the Arts. “This exhibition examines the hidden and important role Eleanor Roosevelt played in the formation of [New Deal arts] programs, as well as her advocacy for the fine arts in American culture. . . . [Her] repeated emphasis on the role of the fine arts in civic life is examined through her public speeches, radio addresses, and correspondence with prominent artists and intellectuals,” says Ohrenberger. His exhibit also examines Val-Kill Industries as a precursor to some New Deal arts projects.

Jonian Rafti ’15, a history and economics major, curated Eleanor Roosevelt: The People’s Advocate, which explores Mrs. Roosevelt’s radical redefinition of the role of the First Lady. He examines how, through her speeches, newspaper and magazine articles, travels, and vast correspondence with the American people, Mrs. Roosevelt kept in close touch with the American people. Rafti says, “What is extraordinary about Eleanor Roosevelt’s advocacy work is both her choice to do such work, and the matters she tackled. Both during her time as First Lady, and during the years after FDR’s death, Eleanor Roosevelt devoted herself to the betterment of society. She was a keen, pragmatic, idealist.”

TO DOWNLOAD a high-resolution photo, go to: www.bard.edu/news/pressphotos/.
CAPTION INFO: Curator talks by (left to right): John Ohrenberger, Clara Allison, Jonian Rafti.

This event was last updated on 05-12-2015

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