In/Visible Stories Series in Brattleboro
The Folklife Center strives to reach across the state with our events and exhibits and this July we’re enjoying concentrating our energy in southeastern Vermont through a range of programs in Brattleboro.
Exhibit-goers at 118 Elliot
The In/Visible Stories Series centered around The Most Costly Journey exhibit, on display through the end of July, which features the experiences of Latin American migrant farmworkers in Vermont. Here’s a glimpse of some of the events that have taken place over the last two weeks:
Summer Institute: Documenting Everyday Life
A model interview at Summer Institute (photo by Jessica Hong)
The Summer Institute 2022 cohort
On July 6-7 ten learners traveled from points around Vermont, New York State and even as far as Virginia to gather in the 118 Elliot Gallery for a two-day immersive course, sharing the “ethnographic toolkit” used by Folklife Center staff in our work. Director of Education Sasha Antohin and Education and Media Specialist Mary Wesley guided the group in an exploration of deep listening practices, descriptive writing, oral history interviewing, and approaches to collaborative documentary work.
Exhibit Reception: The Making of a Community-Centered Exhibit
Participants in the Documenting Everyday Life course enjoyed a visit from guest speaker Chris Urban. Urban is a high school Spanish teacher and former educator at the Vermont Migrant Education Program. Urban spoke about his collaboration with Latin American migrant farm workers in Addison County, his own lifelong home, in developing The Golden Cage Project.
Chris Urban presents (Photo by Jessica Hong)
Originally exhibited in 2008, The Golden Cage strives to create a revealing portrait of dairy farmers and their Latin American employees through intimate photographs and interviews. Portions of The Golden Cage are currently on display at 118 Elliot as part of The Most Costly Journey exhibit.
In the evening, Urban reflected on the exhibit’s genesis and development, offered personal insights and lessons learned from the people he interviewed, and described how he thinks about the exhibit in the present-day. Urban has ongoing relationships with many of the farmers and farm workers depicted in the exhibit, and shared updates on both the struggles they face and the ways they create community, including weekly soccer games at a local school, accompanied by music and food.
Kickoff Roundtable: Vermont Reads
Vermont Reads is a statewide, one-book reading program run by Vermont Humanities; the VFC’s book, The Most Costly Journey, is the 2022 Vermont Reads selection!
Throughout the year, communities host programs related to the book's themes. On Thursday evening, July 14, VFC Archivist Andy Kolovos, Julia Doucet of the Open Door Clinic, and cartoonist Marek Bennet discussed migration, farming, mental health, cartooning, and the Latin American farmworker experience in Vermont for both live and virtual audiences.
Photo courtesy of Vermont Humanities
Discussion host and Vermont Humanities Director Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup had great questions for the panel, who represent widely varying professional expertise. They shared how the project grew, changed over time, and how comics can be effective tools for not only public health interventions, but also raising awareness about the experiences of a group of people who are often silenced or unheard.
VFC is excited and proud about the partnerships that made this book possible, and grateful to Vermont Humanities for recognizing the importance of The Most Costly Journey. We look forward to the many events around the state this coming year, where people will get to learn more about this project.
