Projects from the Heritage Center

Although the Heritage Center has been closed to the public for over a year, the center’s staff still has been moving forward with several projects. Throughout this month, a traveling Smithsonian exhibit, “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” will be at Loretto City Hall. This exhibit focuses on change in rural life over the past century in the United States. The exhibit is divided into two sections, one provided by the Smithsonian detailing nationwide changes, and the second provided by the Heritage Center and our community partners detailing changes in western Marion County specifically. We had been working toward this exhibit opening since late 2019 and in June put the finishing touches on our exhibit panels, object cases, digital interactives and programming schedule.

The Dominican Sisters of Peace and the Loretto Motherhouse are working together on the “I Was Here” project to honor the enslaved people the orders held in bondage on these grounds. Eleanor Craig first heard of this project at a seminar and has been the main point of contact. “I Was Here” is a permanent art installation series that aims to remind the public that Black people have been here throughout our history. The installation is made of translucent pieces of cloth depicting ancestor spirits, which are hung in windows in prominent and meaningful locations. Loretto plans to use the art pieces in a recognition ceremony at Assembly 2021. For more about the project, visit https://i-was-here.org.