Clients

[Kristin] divided workshop participants into small groups … each assigned a space or room…. My group was assigned the ballroom, what I remember as a mostly empty space with a few historic furnishings. There were no interpretive signs. Gallas gave us a sheet of paper with minimal descriptions and asked that we think about the role of enslaved people in those spaces. It was genius! … She made us imagine an alternate experience, one of tired hands and feet quickly and quietly moving in and out of the space, others standing along the walls for hours just waiting, thinking, hoping. We did not need the historical documentation to know what happened, but we had a powerful experience nonetheless. It wasn’t mythical. It wasn’t a lie. It was an imagined experience. I was so moved by that experience that I wanted to immediately go to [my colleagues] and share.

– Dr. Jodi Skipper, Behind the Big House: Reconciling Slavery, Race, and Heritage in the U.S. South

The workshop was very helpful in terms of preparation for interaction with
visitors, and provided research-based strategies, lots of examples and
opportunities for practice. Also helped me set a broad context for our exhibit
and the many ‘connections’ that visitors may make, some positive,
some not so much.

– Workshop Participant