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  • Lecture

Witnesses to History: Historic Moments Documented within Family Photo Albums in the Kislak Center

Samantha Hill, Curator of Civic Engagement, Kislak Center

 

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May 5, 2023, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
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Virtual (link will be sent to registrants)
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Open to the Public
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Hosted by: Kislak Center

Ms. Coll. 1482, photograph

Samantha Hill, Curator of Civic Engagement in the Kislak Center, will reflect on the growing trend in libraries to collect family photo albums as historic documents.  Not only does a family photo album capture our most precious moments and interests, but it also grants us a glimpse into communal memories that document migration, war, protests and the evidence of gentrification.  This talk will explore how photographic self-documentation illustrates the breadth and depth of historical moments by featuring examples from the Kislak Center's collections. 

Event Series

Elzevier Collection duodecimos.

From the Kislak Stacks

Join us for these monthly lunchtime presentations (noon – 1 pm) by Kislak curators, faculty, and students focusing on specific works or small archives/collections found among the holdings of the Kislak Center.

Samantha Hill

Samantha Hill is the Curator of Civic Engagement at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.  She holds master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, School of Information, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Before coming to Penn, Samantha worked as an artist and educator to produce archive-based exhibits, educational projects, and presentations for academic and cultural institutions.  Samantha developed exhibitions and projects for the Anchorage Museum, the Block Museum at Northwestern University, the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics & Culture at the University of Chicago.  She is also the creator of the Kinship Project, a community archive of photographs and artifacts from African American families dated between 1839 to 2012.   

As the Curator of Civic Engagement, Samantha continues this work by collecting and preserving Philadelphia's diverse contemporary histories and cultures.  She collaborates with community organizations to develop digital archives and programs, which will extend online access of the collections to researchers, students and the public.

Featured image: photo detail from the Blackmon family photo archive, Ms. Coll. 1482, Kislak Center