Moving Forward Toward the Past

420 West Broadway back when it was the center of SoHo's gallery scene in the early-1970's

420 West Broadway back when it was the center of SoHo’s gallery scene in the early-1970’s (Allan Tannenbaum)

We did it!  And we did it SoHo style.  Everyone in our community came together this past month and gave what they could to fund The SoHo Memory Project’s Portable Historical Society through Kickstarter.  We could not have done it without each and every donation.  Thank you all so much for your support!

Things are moving forward! I am already busy thinking about how to adapt the Uni Project’s Portable Reading Room to accommodate a fabulous exhibit about SoHo.  I am compiling a list of possible popup spots. I’m talking to people about donating items to our archive.  I am meeting with old-timers as well as newcomers with stories to tell.

I will be spending the summer making plans and making contacts and making new SoHo friends so that we can hit the ground running come Fall. If all goes well, our portable historical society will begin popping up around SoHo in Spring 2016, with possible previews this coming winter.

In the meantime, I am asking you to keep in touch and to let me know if you have any ideas.  Do you know a great place that might host us for a popup event? Do you have material related to SoHo history that you would like to donate to our collection? Would you be interested in being interviewed for an oral history?  Do you have any ideas for future events?

And looking farther into the future, I am seeking supporters to sustain us for the long run—grants from public and private sources and corporate sponsors who care about preserving our neighborhood’s past as we bring it into the future.  If you can think of a good fit for us, please let me know.

This project is not about me, although my story is a very small part of a much larger whole.  This is about us and our collective memories. I have volunteered to be the memory keeper, but I need everyone’s help to tell the stories. So please keep in touch.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!

 

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