Oral History Project Manager
University District Museum without Walls
Duration: 9 months, start September/October 2008
Hours per week: Approx. 10-15
Compensation: $7,500
Application Deadline: August 30^th, 2008
Please send resume and cover letter to wlarrimore@qwest.net, subject “Oral History Project Manager”

Job Description: The University District Museum Without Walls is looking for an Oral History Project Manager to coordinate and record video oral histories with residents of the University District neighborhood. Applicants must be comfortable working both independently and with a group and must provide their own workspace. Hours are flexible, but a commitment of approximately 10-15 hours a week for 9 months is required.

The responsibilities of the Oral History Project Manager will include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Implement steering committee plans for oral history project, while offering input and new suggestions as appropriate.

• Help identify and recruit interview subjects from the neighborhood, focusing on the diversity of the area. Working independently and, with the help of MWW volunteers, record and edit 10-15 video interviews.

• Manage previously recruited volunteers to help with oral history interviews.

• Work with MWW steering committee to manage oral history project budget.

• Work with MWW web manager to transfer video oral history recordings to the MWW website; host oral history video recordings on YouTube.

• Work with MWW exhibit project manager to select oral history audio snippets for exhibit “Open to Question: A History of Activism in the University District.”

• Attend monthly or semimonthly Museum Without Walls (MWW) steering committee meetings.

Required Qualifications/Experience:

• Demonstrated understanding of oral history methodologies and technologies. Previous experience interviewing oral history subjects or videotaping individuals or groups.

• Demonstrated proficiency with video recording equipment, microphones, etc.

• 2-3 years project management experience.

• Demonstrated interest in local history.

• Available time commitment of 10-15 hours/week for 9 months.

• Ability to take initiative and work independently to complete a project. Ability to collaborate with a group to complete a project.

Desired Qualifications/Experience:

• Access to video recording equipment and experience uploading videos to the web.

• Previous experience managing volunteers.

        

Exhibition and Programs Project Manager
University District Museum Without Walls
Duration: Approx. 9 months, start September/October 2008 to June 2009
Hours per week: Approx. 10-20
Compensation: $12,000
Application Deadline: August 30^th, 2008

Please send resume and cover letter to wlarrimore@qwest.net, subject “Exhibition and Programs Project Manager”

Museum Without Walls, an ongoing initiative of the University District Arts & Heritage Committee, is seeking a qualified project manager to coordinate all aspects of an upcoming, temporary historical exhibition in Seattle’s University District.

The exhibition, “Open to Question: A History of Social, Political and Community Activism in Seattle’s University District,” will include an outdoor photo exhibit from April through May of 2009 on the outdoor plaza of the University of Washington Tower (formerly Safeco Tower). Associated events and programs include an opening night reception, several brown bag lunch discussions, a youth poster competition and an oral history component.

The responsibilities of the Project Manager will include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Site coordination (with UW Office of Real Estate and Campus Art Program)

• Securing of rights of reproduction for copyright-protected photographic materials

• Community outreach and audience development (including preparation of press materials and media coordination, and coordination with all project participants)

• Coordinate with volunteers to staff the exhibition and associated events

• Coordination of exhibition design with UW School of Art design students; coordination of exhibition fabrication

• Coordination of graphics, such as announcement cards, website, signage and local advertising.

• Coordination of Youth Art Poster Competition with Sanctuary Art Center and YMCA.

• Work with the MWW oral history project manager to select oral history snippets for use with Guide by Cell, an audio guide to accompany the exhibit.

• Work with the MWW Coordinator to manage the exhibit/programming budget.

• Attend monthly or semimonthly Museum Without Walls (MWW) steering committee meetings.

Required Qualifications/Experience:

• Minimum 2-3 years of exhibit and/or program planning for a museum or arts organization

• Minimum 3-4 years project management experience

• Familiarity and experience with press relations and media coordination

• Demonstrated interest in local history.

• Ability to coordinate multiple aspects of a project at once

• Ability to take initiative and work independently to complete a project. Ability to collaborate with a group to complete a project.

For exhibition examples, press release and more information, please read blog entries below.

        

Committee awarded over $60,000 in grant money to fund project

Seattle—The University District Arts and Heritage Committee has been awarded $54,912 from the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and $6,000 from 4Culture to execute an interdisciplinary project known as “Museum Without Walls” that will draw together the history and cultural life of Seattle's University District.

A Department of Neighborhoods Large Projects Matching Fund will fund the University District Museum Without Walls project as it launches its first year of exhibits, events, and other projects. In spring 2009, Museum Without Walls will install a temporary exhibit on the outdoor plaza of the University Tower (formerly Safeco Tower) called Open to Question: Social, Political, and Community Activism in Seattle’s University District. A number of associated programs, open to the public, will occur in conjunction with the exhibit that will encourage community participation in a discussion about the historical and contemporary meanings of activism in the University District.

The Department of Neighborhoods award will also fund the recording of a number of new oral histories with University District residents. The Museum Without Walls project will use oral histories to explore and showcase the diversity of the neighborhood and will capture some of the most interesting and hidden stories in the University District. The oral histories will be available online starting this winter at museumwithoutwalls.udistrict.org/.

4Culture has awarded $6,000 to the Museum Without Walls project to create a set of collectible, tradable cards, highlighting the history of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. The cards will be distributed at AYP commemoration events and other community events in the spring and summer of 2009.

In addition to $60,000 in grant money, the University District Museum Without Walls project has also raised $7,500 from a generous donation by the University District Rotary Club. The Rotary money will be used to fund the oral history recordings and the collectible cards, as well as sculptural tribute to the AYP in summer 2009.

The University District Arts and Heritage Committee welcome volunteers to help with Museum Without Walls. Please contact susancoleman2@aol.com for more information.

        

On July 19, 2008, the City of Seattle presented its Neighborhood Matching Fund Large Projects awards to several community groups at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center. Receiving the award for the University District Museum Without Walls group from Councilman Tim Burgess and Mayor Greg Nickels were Susan Coleman and William Larrimore. The Elspeth Savani Cuban Quartet provided some great music while the Kallaloo Caribbean Creole Cuisine catering service supplied wonderful dishes from the islands.

        

Charles E. Odegaard was president of the University of Washington from 1958-1973.  During his tenure, he helped double student enrollment, oversaw construction of 35 new buildings, and helped define the UW as a prestigious research and teaching institution.

President Odegaard was generally willing to listen to student concerns and believed in freedom of speech on campus. Although he did not tolerate violence or radical protests, he was otherwise supportive of student activism.

In the photo below, President Odegaard speaks to 7,000 UW students on May 5, 1970 who had gathered at Red Square to protest the shootings at Kent State University.  Odegaard closed the university on May 6 for a “day of reflection.” He was also one of 37 American university presidents to send a telegram to President Nixon asking for immediate withdrawal from Vietnam and Cambodia.

        

Well, it’s been a bit busy lately, writing grants, meeting people around the neighborhood, and making plans for our first two Museum Without Walls projects: a temporary exhibit about activism and an oral history project with University District residents.  But, I’m back on the blog and even though Photo of the Week may be more like Photo of the Every-Other-Week from now on, I still have lots of great photos to share.  In fact, to make up for falling behind, I’ve got two photos this week!

This week’s pictures were taken on May 5, 1970, the day after four students were killed at Kent State University in Ohio by National Guardsman for protesting the bombing of Cambodia by President Nixon.  University of Washington students, like many other students around the country, called for their school to take stand against the shooting and against the Vietnam War.

That morning, thousands of students gathered in Red Square for a rally.  Many people, like the man shown here, spoke to the crowd about why University of Washington students should protest the Cambodia bombings and the Kent State shootings.  The crowd decided to strike, with the support of President Odegaard, who closed the university the next day.


Later in the day, the rally turned into a march from campus up University Way.  This route had been taken before by protesters, and typically ended back on campus, but on that day the crowd headed west towards the freeway.  Nearly 5,000 people marched onto Interstate-5 to head to an antiwar rally in downtown Seattle.  The picture below shows a stand-off between demonstrators and state troopers in riot gear.  The march remained peaceful and the protest eventually left the freeway, but attempts would be made over the next few days to repeat the walk down I-5.

        

As the 1960s rolled to a close, the University District was facing tense times.  Riots in the summer of 1969 and student protests in the spring of 1970 were sources of discontent for many in the neighborhood who worried that divisiveness was dangerously pervasive.

In the late spring of 1970, several members of the community, led by merchant and peace activist Andy Shiga, and business executive Ron Denchfield, formed a committee to plan a neighborhood street fair.  The street fair, thought Shiga, would help refocus people’s attention on the positive aspects of the University District, and would celebrate diversity, rather than condone people’s differences.

The first University District Street Fair occurred over the weekend of May 23 and 24, 1970. 50,000 people came and the event was so successful that it became an annual event.  Pictured here are vendors and attendees at the second annual Street Fair in 1971.

Interested in this year’s fair (it’s on May 18 and 19 and Museum Without Walls will be there, so mark your calendars)?  Visit the Chamber of Commerce’s website to learn more about how to reserve a booth, and which vendors will be attending.

-Julia


Photo Courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection

        

Happy 2008 everyone!  This year will bring a lot of exciting projects to the University District and the Museum Without Walls is busy working on getting things ready.  We’re back with a new picture of the week, and as always, we welcome your comments and suggestions on our site and our projects!

In 1947, the state of Washington passed legislation that required “all state employees to sign an oath disclaiming membership in organizations that advocated strikes or the overthrow of the government.” This also prompted the formation of a state committee, known as the Canwell Committee, that was modeled after the national House Committee on Un-American Activities and set out to target questionable members of the University of Washington faculty.  In 1949, three faculty members were fired and three more placed on probation; this action was the first of its kind during the Cold War.

As shown in the picture, the actions of the Canwell Committee did not sit well with some Seattelites.  Even in the context of the Cold War, many recognized that the firing of the three University professors was a violation of civil liberties.  Protesters marched in front of the Canwell Committee hearings in 1948, but unfortunately were unsuccessful in reversing the committee’s decision.  The three faculty members lost their jobs, and the loyalty oath requirement was not overturned until 1964. 

- Julia

Photo courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection

        

Museum Without Walls Updates and Picture of the Week!

Have you been wondering what the people behind the University District Museum Without Walls have been up to lately?  Well, we have been busily making plans for five exciting upcoming projects: curating a temporary exhibit, collecting oral histories, creating a set of collectible cards, installing new sculptures, and depicting U-District history on billboards throughout the neighborhood.  We are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers and public support so if you want to get involved we have a place for you!

One project that is currently underway is a temporary exhibit that will be installed somewhere in the U-District (location TBD) sometime in the fall of 2008.  We are using the working title Open to Question: Social, Political and Community Activism in the University District to describe the exhibit.  Open to Question will explore the fascinating history of activism in this neighborhood, with a special focus on the period from 1965-1975.  We’ll be using photos, posters, newspapers, oral histories and more to tell this story, so if you have something to contribute, please let us know.

As part of the exhibit process, the Museum Without Walls blog will be featuring a “Picture of the Week” that represents activism in the U- District.  Check back every week for a new picture!

The first Picture of the Week honors the spirit of holiday giving and community activism that tends to be on people’s minds in the month of December.  In this photo, a University of Washington staff member contributes to a UW Holiday Food Drive for the University District Food Bank.   

The University District Food Bank truly embodies the spirit of giving back to the community by serving 850 needy Northeast Seattle families every week.   The holidays are an especially good time to consider making a donation to the Food Bank, but donations are needed year round!  Contact the Food Bank today and see how you can make a difference in your community.
 
Happy Holidays and we’ll see you in the New Year! 

-  Julia




Photograph courtesy of University Week