Swedish American Museum Association Of Chicago

THE SWEDISH AMERICAN MUSEUM WILL REINTERPRET, RENOVATE, AND REINSTALL ITS PERMANENT EXHIBITION, "DREAM OF AMERICA," WHICH FOR TWO DECADES HAS ENGAGED SCHOOL GROUPS AND OTHER VISITORS WITH THE ANDERSONVILLE COMMUNITY'S HISTORIC SWEDISH ROOTS. AS THE DEMOGRAPHICS IN ANDERSONVILLE EVOLVED TO A MORE DIVERSE COMMUNITY WITH FIRST-GENERATION IMMIGRANTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND A VIBRANT LGBTQ+ POPULATION, THE MUSEUM RE-ENVISIONED ITS MAJOR EXHIBITION, NOW TO BE CALLED "WE ARE AMERICA." THE NEW EXHIBIT WILL PRESENT A MORE HOLISTIC PORTRAYAL OF THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE BY INCORPORATING DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES AND CURRENT IMMIGRATION SCHOLARSHIP. PARTNERS IN THE CHICAGO CULTURAL ALLIANCE WILL CONTRIBUTE STORIES OF IMMIGRATION HISTORY THAT DRAW PARALLELS AND ACKNOWLEDGE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE EXPERIENCE OF 19TH CENTURY SWEDES AND RECENT IMMIGRANTS.

DIGITIZING THE SWEDISH-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN CHICAGO [IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT FITTING THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA: DEVELOPING DATABASES, VIRTUAL COLLECTIONS, OTHER DIGITAL RESOURCES, OR PROJECT-SPECIFIC TOOLS TO CODIFY INFORMATION ON A SUBJECT OR TO PROVIDE INTEGRATED ACCESS TO SELECTED HUMANITIES MATERIALS. THIS GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DIGITIZE ARCHIVAL MATERIAL AT THE SWEDISH AMERICAN MUSEUM. THERE ARE SEVERAL STAGES TO THIS PROJECT: DIGITIZATION, REHOUSING, CORRECTING AND UPDATING METADATA IN THE MUSEUM?S DATABASE CATALOGIT, AND PUBLISHING DIGITIZED RECORDS ONLINE. INCREASE ACCESS TO MATERIAL THAT FOCUSES ON PERSONAL IMMIGRATION STORIES AND ITEMS THAT RELATE TO THE SWEDISH-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN CHICAGO BETWEEN THE LATE 1880S AND THE MID-1900S, WHEN SWEDISH MIGRATION AND SWEDISH-AMERICAN CULTURE FLOURISHED IN CHICAGO. WE BELIEVE THAT THE SWEDISH-AMERICAN STORIES CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF IMMIGRANT LIVES, ETHNIC IDENTITIES, AND CULTURAL TRADITIONS IN CHICAGO AND THE UNITED STATES MORE GENERALLY.]

MUSEUMS FOR AMERICA