(Camden, NJ) – The New Jersey Council for the Humanities announces that Voices and Votes: Democracy in America, a traveling exhibition about civic engagement and participation in our democracy, will open at Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) in Mount Laurel on April 5, 2022. Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is part of the Museum on Main Street (MoMS) initiative. A Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) program, this pop-up exhibit will travel to six locations in New Jersey between April 2022 and January 2023.
Voices and Votes: Democracy in America will be on display at Rowan College at Burlington County from Tuesday, April 5, 2022 until Thursday, May 5, 2022. The exhibit is free and open to the public. It features historical and contemporary photos; educational and archival video; engaging multimedia interactives; and historical objects like campaign souvenirs, voter memorabilia, and protest material, which together tell the story of American democracy. Voices and Votes is based on a major exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History called American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith.
The 2022-23 New Jersey tour schedule for Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is:
• Rowan College at Burlington County in Mount Laurel, April 5 – May 5
• Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, May 18 – June 20
• Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing, July 11 – August 13
• Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, August 20 – October 2
• Union County College in Cranford, October 10 – November 18
• Middlesex College in Edison, December 1 – January 6
“For the past twenty years, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service has provided access to our country’s preeminent museum and its exhibitions,” said NJCH Executive Director Carin Berkowitz, Ph.D. “We’re proud to bring Voices and Votes to six of our esteemed community colleges. Exhibit-goers will have a chance to consider the crucial issue of their own role in our government.”
“Rowan College at Burlington County is honored to kick off this exhibit and to be a part of this important statewide conversation about our democracy,” RCBC President Michael A. Cioce, Ed.D said. “It is an appropriate time to remember where we came from and renew our individual commitment to being informed and engaged citizens.”
The New Jersey Council for the Humanities will host an opening reception at RCBC on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 5:00pm. To learn more or register to attend, click here.
Programming at each Voices and Votes exhibit location will vary, as host sites are creating learning opportunities with their specific communities in mind. In addition to the exhibition and other site-specific events, NJCH will support statewide community conversations about topics related to the history of our democracy, voting, and civic discourse throughout 2022.
Voices and Votes also will be highlighted throughout the ongoing NJCH “Celebrating 50 Years of Connections: Public Humanities in the Garden State” anniversary campaign. The campaign, designed to prompt celebration of and reflection about the role that the public humanities has played in the state over the last five decades, will include special monthly events and opportunities.
To learn more about Voices and Votes: Democracy in America or the work of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, click here. _________________________________________________________________
About the New Jersey Council for the Humanities
The New Jersey Council for the Humanities is a nonprofit state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. NJCH explores, cultivates, and champions the public humanities in order to strengthen New Jersey’s diverse community. We envision a New Jersey that delights in discussion, appreciates complexity, and finds joy and understanding in the humanities. We work statewide with historical, cultural, and educational organizations to bring dynamic programming to the local level.
