A Reality Show Comes to Museum Practices

For your writing assingment due October 9, we will change the project to the following. Last Friday, I was asked to consult on a museum project. Below I briefly describe some of the project detail. Based on what you have read, discussed in class, learned through the Pink Palace visit, if you were in my shoes, what concerns do you believe need to be addressed in the project? What are some of the specific problems? What would you recomend to Mr. Turner? Are there issues that need to be resolved before you even consider participating in the project? and so on . . .

So here's the story . . . I received a phone call from John Connaway, staff archaeologist in Clarksdale with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). He said a Mr. Tom Turner in Belzoni was putting together a museum of collections from the Jaketown site, a nearby mound complex that dates to the time of the Poverty Point culture. John knew that I worked for 8 years as the Station Archaeologist at the Poverty Point site located near Epps Louisiana, a couple hours as the crow flies from the Jaketown site. John asked me to come down and give some advice on exhibits, text, and so forth based on my experience at Poverty Point. I agreed to the meeting for a couple of reasons. First, I believe such small town museums are important as a means of educating local citizens about scarce cultural resources and insuring the resources preservation - along with a host of identity and economic benefits for the community. Second, I have a couple of ongoing research projects that could benefit from more complete access to Jaketown site collections.

Here is what I learned about the musuem during my visit. The artifacts exhibited in the museum will be composed of Jaketown site collections curated with MDAH, a public entity. As well, several individuals agreed to donate their collections to the museum and other individuals agreed to loan artifacts. I asked Mr. Turner if he had obtained for the musuem any "jasper owls" or "effigy beads" rare and highly valued artifacts from the region and period. He said not yet, but there was one collector that owned 2 of 16 jasper owls known to exist in the entire Southeast United States. Tommy Turner, until just recently, had been mayor of Belzoni for the past 24 years. He knows everyone. He remembered me from when I spoke at the Belzoni library during Archaeology Week nearly 10 years ago.

After a lunch of catfish, peas, greens, corn bread and sweet tea at the Varsity Cafe (the best blue plate eating in Belzoni), I agreed to do the following: assist in the production of graphics for the museum displays, assist with exhibit label wording, search archive materials for photographs and field records from the 1952 excavations, assist in the production of an introductory video, mail Mr. Turner numerous articles and so forth I have on Poverty Point collection exhibits I have worked on in the past.

So . . . if you were in my shoes, what would your next steps be.

Thanks,

Robert Connolly