Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2016 08 03 JT

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Page 32 of 150 The Louisville Historical Museum brings together people to share stories about Louisville. For a short tag line that would best express the essence of Museum activities, instead of "We're Listening," the Historical Commission and City staff have expressed a preference for "We Each Have a Story to Tell." X. Interpretive Themes Metcalfe reported that the public input received at the two workshops in October 2014 included "wonderful, animated conversations and a spirit of great support for the Museum." The following are quotations of the specific areas of consensus that Metcalfe identified from the public workshops: • Emphasize local history and interpretation, with connections to the wider world. • Stories are the most powerful way to engage people with history. • The Museum is an intimate space and should preserve that feeling of intimacy. • Food can be a core theme. • There is a distinct need for social gathering places in Louisville. Based on this public input, and on input from Metcalfe, City staff, and Museum volunteers, the following six Interpretive Themes were selected to inform the exhibits and programming offered by the Museum on-site and off-site, and in a variety of media: • The idea of people gathered around a community table to share stories exemplifies the small and intimate interactions that take place at the Museum on an almost daily basis. • Coal mining and farming were honorable occupations that helped shape the culture of Louisville. • Louisville was a destination for immigrants and became a colony for Italians in the American West. • Families were, and are, the foundation of the Louisville community. • A way to understand a community is to look at its food and domestic life • The "campus" of the Museum extends beyond the Museum site itself to encompass Main Street and all of downtown Louisville. XI. Practical Implementation of the Interpretive Plan Small scale and intimate interactions, and the sharing of information and stories, make up the overriding theme of the Museum. As Metcalfe emphasized, the interactions with people at the Museum are intimate now, and they will need to continue to be intimate. A communal table, or kitchen table, is planned for each of the four main buildings in order to emphasize the theme of the Museum and encourage visitors to sit and share stories and information about Louisville. These are proposed to be custom designed and could be financially sponsored for a renewable fixed period by a business, family, or individual. 24