On October 10, 2023, two distinguished curators from the Smithsonian Insttiution Museum of American History presented this program to the Skidaway Hamiltons.
Faith Ruffins, Project Director and Chief Curator – Low Country Exhibition and Project
Dr Tony Perry, Curator of Environmental History
Meeting Video
[excerpt from Smithsonian website] At the center of the Lowcountry Project is an exhibition on Gullah-Geechee cultural heritage that will open at the National Museum of American History (NMAH) in 2025. This multimedia exhibit will feature objects, photographs, audio recordings, and video drawn from several Smithsonian units, which together comprises one of the largest collections of Gullah-Geechee materials in the world. Beyond the exhibit, the Lowcountry Project consists of a community meeting series developed in collaboration with organizational and institutional partners, programming at different Lowcountry sites as well as at NMAH, as well as a digital platform to increase the accessibility of the exhibit and larger project. Thematically, the environment in Gullah-Geechee life and culture is a thread that not only unites the exhibit but the Lowcountry Project as a whole. Whether regarding foodways, recreation, religion, or community activism, the environment has been central to Gullah-Geechee heritage and will remain so into the future.
