Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Sit on the porch with Mack Munn and indulge in the stories told by community members of East Arcadia, N.C. in the late 1900s through a photographic collection and exhibit created by students at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The opening reception of the exhibit, entitled "Flashback: Community Life through the Lens of Mack Munn, 1940-1960," will be Wed., April 27, 2011 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the UNCW Public History Graduate Student Gallery on the second floor of Randall Library.

The exhibit, developed by the UNCW Public History program in collaboration with the Lower Bladen-Columbus Historical Society, features photographs taken by southeastern North Carolina photographer Mack Munn in the 1940s and 50s in the communities around Riegelwood, East Arcadia and Sandyfield. Munn captured images of people working, moving, buying and living in the community. Audio clips of interviews conducted with community residents accompany the photos.

"Capturing the voices and stories of these residents adds such a rich component to the exhibit," said Jennifer Scott, lead curator. "Not only can we see the images of them working, praying, singing, farming and more, but we can hear in their own words what it felt like and what it meant to them."

UNCW students in associate professor Tammy Gordon's graduate seminars designed and executed the exhibit. Two graduate students, Erica Hague and Jennifer Scott, guided the year- long project as lead curators. The students researched the photos and the history of East Arcadia, conducted a formative evaluation study with library patrons and citizens, created a three-day curriculum program to lend to eighth grade teachers and students and designed and fabricated the 900-square-foot exhibit. As part of their efforts to learn from the memories of the community's residents, the students visited a senior center, churches, homes and community festivals and gatherings to gather oral histories.

"Public history means community engagement," said Gordon. "The collaboration between UNCW and Earnestine Keaton, grand-niece of Mack Munn and director of the Lower Bladen-Columbus Historical Society, provided an ideal occasion for graduate students preparing for museum work to create an exhibit not just about people, but with people."

The exhibit will feature a recreated 1940s porch from East Arcadia as well as the front of the East Arcadia train station that appears in one of the photos. Visitors can listen to oral histories while sitting in a ladder back chair or photograph themselves at the train station just like the historical photos in the exhibit.

The opening reception for the exhibit will feature singing by choir members from Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Graham's Chapel AME and Pleasant Union Missionary Baptist Church, under the direction of Mt. Zion music director LaManuel Boykin. Student curators will lead a walk-through of the exhibit.

The exhibit will be on display until February 29, 2012. To learn more about the exhibit and how it was created, visit the Facebook page "Flashback: The Mack Munn Photography Exhibit." Go to www.facebook.com and search "Flashback Mack Munn."

Media are invited to attend the opening reception. Interviews can be arranged with student curators and UNCW faculty members.

Media Contact: Emily Jones, media relations, 910.962.3171 or jonesel@uncw.edu