Philly Grocery Stores: We need you!

Catch up with the Truck in Chinatown/North

Fuel our mission, help us roll out with a set of our own wheels!

Dear friends,

As you know, History Truck is a mobile museum project creating interdisciplinary neighborhood exhibitions with the people who live, work, and play in Philly’s places and spaces.  On Friday evening, History Truck opened its second community-based exhibition at 2152 N. Broad St. about the history of North Philadelphia.  Based on the oral histories we collected over the course of our yearlong cycle, They Say They Gonna Build explores university expansion and community building in the context of North Philadelphia.  We brought lesser-known narratives to light in creative ways with the help of grassroots organizations, artists, and historians of all ages.

Now, the project needs your help to keep moving.  For the past two years, civic leader Jeff Carpineta has lovingly shared his wheels with us, but it is time for us to drive on our own.

We need our own truck!

FUEL OUR MISSION.  DONATE NOW to help us purchase and design our own dynamic and comfortable TRUCK that will serve as a mobile oral history collection and exhibition space for years to come.

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Last week, we graciously accepted the John Andrew Gallery Community Action Award at the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia’s annual awards ceremony, but I want to tell you specifics of how History Truck is a resource to Philadelphians.  In the project’s infancy, I volunteered at the St. Francis Inn soup kitchen before launching oral history sessions with their guests in East Kensington.  We hosted a block party with the neighbors of 1800 E. Huntingdon Street with support from the East Kensington Neighbors Association.  We presented our first exhibition, Manufacturing Fire, at Little Berlin curatorial collective in April 2014 and raised issues about postindustrial textile mill fires, explored unknown histories of racism, and placed the work of activists in the neighborhood into a longer context.

In our second year working in North Philadelphia, we took our work to the next level.  Last summer, campers from Tree House Books became agents of history by conducting oral histories with community leaders and then translating the audio into the visual of collage with artist Theodore A. Harris.  Last fall, we amplified a peace rally at the Philadelphia Urban Creators farm with an oral history and memory mapping station, as well as an entire spread of food for all attendees.  We partnered with the Free Breakfast Program art collective to host a block party in a vacant lot on N. 13th Street and projected art on the walls at sunset to reuse the space as a museum.  My assistant and I spent long hours researching in archives across the city to select images for reproduction in the exhibit, and I invited a group of artists and historians to present work in They Say They Gonna Build that could creatively raise questions about university expansion and community building.

On Friday, a group of Temple University students came to They Say They Gonna Build for guidance on how to better work with neighbors.  On Saturday, a middle-aged man named Charles brought his young family to see the show so that they could know their history– he is a lifelong resident of Diamond Street and Temple graduate.  He grabbed my arm and thanked me for the project, and I shook the hand of each member of his family.  Laura, a young historian and environmental studies student from Swarthmore College, came to the show to orient her own research on North Philadelphia.  Our work matters to every person we meet.

But we want to do more.  We want to pop up at Philadelphia schools with our exhibitions, we want to park at senior centers with a comfortable and accessible seat to share stories, and we want to get started with our work in our next two neighborhoods– Chinatown North and Fairhill– BUT WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT.  Please donate today and be part of the legacy of this heartfelt, civic-driven cultural project.  We need you, and we believe Philadelphia needs us to capture and exhibit fleeting histories as the city rapidly changes.  And if you cannot donate, SPREAD THE WORD and VISIT US on Saturdays through June 27th 12-5 p.m. to see our work firsthand.

Thank you for your support, time, and friendship.

In gratitude,

Erin

They Say They Gonna Build

The boundary between campus and community has never been clear, but North Philadelphians have always been building. Join History Truck this June to explore the history of university expansion and community building in the spaces and places of North Philly closest to Temple University.

Does the boundary even matter? How should North Philly build its future?

Opening Reception
Friday, June 5, 2015. 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Closing Reception
Saturday, June 27, 2015. 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Gallery Hours: Saturdays 12-5 p.m. or by appointment
E-mail: phillyhistorytruck@gmail.com

Informed by oral histories from over fifteen community constituents and the experiences History Truck has shared since the summer of 2014 with Tree House Books, Philadelphia Urban Creators, the Free Breakfast Program, and the Wagner Free Institute of Science…

Featuring the work of…
The Free Breakfast Program
Theodore A. Harris
Kaycee Itohan Osadolor
John Pettit
Erin Bernard
History Makers summer campers of Tree House Books 2014.

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Saturday June 6th & Saturday June 27th
Curator’s Temple University 1970 Development Plan Historic Walking Tour
*Registration through Hidden City Philadelphia, Hidden City members and History Truck community constituents and partners first served*

Curated by Erin Bernard
Exhibition Design Brie Logsdon

Exhibition partners include the McLean Library of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Temple University Urban Archives, and Temple Town Realty.

Funded by the Barra Foundation through Temple University’s Center for Public History.

Save the Date!

August Updates

Here at History Truck, we are up to our ears in good news.  Firstly, we won Best IRL project of the year at the Philadelphia Geek Awards!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to Geekadelphia and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and PHILADELPHIA for making History Truck the awesome project that it is. 

 

So awesome that the Barra Foundation has funded History Truck with an $85,000 grant to connect the neighborhood history museum component of the project to Temple University’s Center for Public History through 2015 with funding to make our work in North Philadelphia happen, to create a web portal for our oral histories, and to evaluate the project as a possible curriculum model where students in the graduate program help run the project.

 

But enough news about the project in general.  We have better news to share– about our work at Tree House Books during July-August.  Below, Grace DiAgostino, the undergraduate research assistant from our first exhibition cycle, updates on our first piece of work in North Philly:

 

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From Grace DiAgostino:

 

Located in the heart of North Philadelphia is Tree House Books, an organization whose mission is to “grow and sustain a community of readers, writers, and thinkers in North Central Philadelphia.” History Truck founder and curator, Erin Bernard, along with Philadelphia artist, Theodore A. Harris, partnered with Tree House Books to complement and contribute to their summer camp this past July.

 

Young female historians brainstorming questions for
their oral history interview with Theodore Andrews.

 

The middle-high school male camp interviewing Don Williams
who opened his barber shop at 15th and Susquehanna Ave. in 1966.

History Truck sharing authority with even the youngest of historians.

 

Campers read books that focused on a specific time in Black history or on specific African Americans who changed history. In addition to their readings, Erin led the groups in public history workshops and how to conduct oral histories by working with community members, some of which relate to characters in their books! Erin and Tree House Books counselors worked together with the campers, helping them to develop questions, interview the community member, and then reflect on what they learned from that person. Campers interviewed Black Panther Barbara Easley Cox, Vietnam Veteran Theodore Andrews, Tree House books volunteer and lifelong resident Sharon Turner, Philadelphia Jazz Project leader Homer Jackson, and local business owner Don Williams of Don’s Doo Shop on Susquehanna Avenue.

Collagist and poet Theodore A. Harris coaching campers
in using collage as a visual language for translating oral history…
there was a lot of work to install!

After interviewing and reflecting on their interviews with community members, Theodore Harris led campers in creating collages. At the end of the day, the summer campers were asked to begin thinking about their collages and to pull pages out of magazines that represented what they heard, learned, and felt about their oral histories. The beautiful and meaningful artwork will be displayed on the History Truck throughout the North Philadelphia cycle.

A collage inspired by Barbara Easley Cox’s oral history
by Tree House History Maker Meadow.  These collages are currently on view at Tree House Books through September and will be traveled with the truck when we finish our exhibition cycle in North Philadelphia.

 

The summer camp experience of the campers was multi-faceted, collective, and educational in a variety of ways. By sharing authority, Tree House Books staff, historian Erin Bernard, artist Theodore Harris, and the students were able to work together to chronicle and artistically interpret meaningful histories in North Central Philadelphia community.

 

 

**This artist-historian collaborative portion of History Truck was funded by
Philly STAKE’s February micogrant funding dinner.  
Buy your tickets to the next dinner on September 21st at Bartram’s Garden and support wonderful projects like this one HERE.**

Summer with the Truck

We have a lot of updates and BIG NEWS to share very soon, but in the meantime, we are thrilled to let you know that the truck has just kicked off its work in the neighborhood of NORTH PHILLY from 9th and Dauphin St. to 15th and Susquehanna Ave. with a team of awesome partners.

 

Tree House Books

Philadelphia Urban Creators

Temple University Center for Public History

UPTOWN Entertainment and Development Corporation, Inc.

 

This July, Erin will be leading public history workshops at the Tree House Books History Makers summer camp.  She will train young critical thinkers (ages 6-15) to consider what questions we should ask about the neighborhood and then connect these kids to local residents to conduct an oral history interview.  At the same time, campers will complete collage workshops with locally-based collagist and poet Theodore A. Harris.  By the end of July, campers will create an original collage completely inspired by the findings in their oral history work.  All of this creative product will be featured in the truck’s 2015 exhibition on NORTH PHILLY.

This Fall, the truck will be hosting Storytelling Block Parties with its North Philly partners to perform more oral histories, host object storycircles, map memories, and more!  Stay tuned.

 

In the meantime, we are thrilled to share that the History Truck is nominated for a Philly Geek Award!  We are so humbled and grateful.  See you August 16th!

 

JUST ADDED: Closing Reception Potluck

   

We have been having such a wonderful time sharing our first exhibition with Philadelphia that we have decided to close our month at Little Berlin with a potluck dinner from 5:30-8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 26th.  Bring a dish and chat with the truck team about the curatorial process.  Share more stories and make another memory of East Kensington.
RSVP is not required, but appreciated.  Let us know what dish you plan to share! phillyhistorytruck@gmail.com

**Having trouble finding Little Berlin?**
Little Berlin is in the Viking Mill studio building
(this building has two murals, one of which is an angel)
at 2430 Coral St. in Kensington accessible through
the art studio building parking lot on Coral St., then head to the back of the courtyard and
up the cement steps to the wooden door.

Manufacturing Fire opens April 4th!

“Cities are and have always been fire places.”
-Steven Pyne, Fire: A Brief History

April 4th – April 26th 
Philadelphia Public History Truck presents…
Manufacturing Fire
Does East Kensington manufacture fire?  What is fire anyway?
Little Berlin  | 2430 Coral St.  | Opening Friday, April 4th 5 p.m.-10 p.m.
Gallery Hours Saturdays 12-5 p.m. or by appointment
phillyhistorytruck@gmail.com  | facebook.com/phillyhistorytruck  | @historytruck

The Philadelphia Public History Truck is pleased to debut its first stationary community exhibition entitled Manufacturing Fire about the neighborhood of East Kensington. Manufacturing Fire examines fire and activism in this place while challenging us all to consider the critical danger in creating racial boundaries. Taste soup and listen to oral histories. Explore community-submitted objects as well as work by the truck team, Maria Möller, Lewis Colburn, Peter Woodall, a collaboration between John Abner and Erin Bernard, and more.

Curated by Erin Bernard
with Jordan Klein, Exhibition Design Consultant and Grace Diagostino, Research Associate.

Thanks to Temple University Libraries, Urban Archives (Paley Library, Temple University), Historical Society of Pennsylvania, East Kensington Neighbors Association (EKNA), St Francis Inn Ministries, and Kensington Community Food Co-op.

Opening Friday April 4th 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Gallery hours Saturdays through April 26th 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. or by appointment. Contact phillyhistorytruck@gmail.com.

*History Truck begins the traveling version of this exhibition in May.*

We’re headed to 15th & Susquehanna Ave.!

Dear Friends,

 

I’m writing with good news that I’ll be presenting at Philly Stake, a recurring microgrant funding dinner and competition that funds locally-based creative community engagement projects in Philadelphia.  All presenters are given three minutes to present their project and compete for funding.  All in attendance at the dinner VOTE for the winning project.  This dinner is being held at the First Unitarian Church at 21st and Chestnut St. on Sunday, February 16th from 5-8 p.m.  Come out, drink, eat and vote! Purchase tickets here.

 

From July 2014-June 2015, we are moving our work to the neighborhood just north of Temple University to put our History Truck: North Philly exhibit cycle into action with an expansive role in artistic programming.  There is much to share about the second leg of the History Truck’s journey, but for starters, here is a list of partners.

 Tree House Books
Philadelphia Urban Creators
The Institute for the Advanced Study in Black Aesthetics (IASBA)
Temple University’s Center for Public History
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
and more are in the works!

 (Want in?  Contact Erin to find out how the Truck can work with you.  We love new friends.)

At Philly Stake, we are asking for funding for the portion of History Truck: North Philly which directly relates to Tree House Books, a nonprofit cultural literacy center at 15th and Susquehanna Ave.  Public historian Erin Bernard (that’s me) has partnered with Collagist Theodore Harris (Founder/Director of the IASBA) to lead Tree House Books campers in July 2014 through the design and curation of a history exhibit utilizing oral history interviews of neighborhood community members and collage in the context of the summer reading curriculum.   Bernard will specialize in guiding students through the interview process.  Harris will specialize in leading the campers with interpreting oral histories using collage.  Works created by campers will be put up in a mini-exhibit at Tree House for the end of summer party, but also included in the full Truck exhibition in June 2015.  All recorded interviews and the truck project itself will be archived in Temple’s Special Collections Research Center.  The grant request budget includes historically-based reading/curriculum materials, a student audio recorder, collage materials, and small stipends for both Erin and Theodore.

So come out, eat, drink and vote for the Truck!  You can purchase tickets here!  If you cannot make it on the 16th, but know a friend who may like to come out and support, please spread the word!  If you would like to support the truck, but cannot attend this dinner, please reach out to me personally.  We need you!  (Please be sure to check out our sponsors page on our website, too, so that you can shop from awesome history truck-supporting institutions and vendors!)

Thank you for your time and consideration!
Many of you are already dear friends of our project, and we are continuously grateful for your support.

Cheers!

erin bernard
founding director & chief curator

philadelphia public history truck

856.332.6202
phillyhistorytruck@gmail.com

ARTIST BIO

Theodore Harris is the founder/director of the Institute for the Advanced Study in Black Aesthetics.  He was a founding artist of the Mural Arts Program.  In 2006, he co-authored the book Our Flesh of Flames with Amiri Baraka and has led collage workshops in prisons and mental health facilities.  Recently, he presented his work at McGill University.  Theodore’s studio is at 9th & Dauphin St.