The Evelyn Burrow Museum to host Smithsonian’s ‘The Way We Worked’ exhibit

The Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibition “The Way We Worked” will make its next stop in Cullman County, settling in at The Evelyn Burrow Museum on the campus of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville from Feb. 10 to March 20.

Expressly chosen by the Alabama Humanities Foundation to host “The Way We Worked” as part of the Museum on Main Street project, the Cullman area is one of only six communities in the state selected for the honor. The exhibit is currently on view in Valley, making previous stops in Athens and Pell City. From Cullman, it will travel to Demopolis and Dothan.

The project — a national, state and local partnership — brings exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations as a way to explore the professions and the people that sustain the American society.

“The Way We Worked,” adapted from an original exhibition developed by the National Archives and Records Administration, explores how work has become a central element in American culture. It traces the many changes that have affected the workforce and work environments over the past 150 years, including the growth of manufacturing and increasing use of technology. The exhibition draws from the Archives’ rich collections, including historical photographs, archival accounts of workers, film, audio and interactives, to tell the compelling story of how work impacts our individual lives and the historical and cultural fabric of our communities.

Since 1997, the foundation has partnered with the Smithsonian to bring the Museum on Main Street program to small cities and rural communities across Alabama. “Allowing all of our state’s residents to have access to the cultural resources of our nation’s premiere museum is a priority of the Alabama Humanities Foundation,” said Executive Director Armand DeKeyser.

“The Way We Worked” is part of Museum on Main Street, a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation and local host institutions. To learn more about “The Way We Worked” and other Museum on Main Street exhibitions, visitwww.museumonmainstreet.org.

Support for Museum on Main Street is provided by the United States Congress, Alabama Power Foundation and Norfolk Southern Foundation. Cullman’s exhibition is a joint project of the City of Cullman, Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, Cullman County Museum, Cullman Economic Development Agency, and Wallace State Community College.

SITES connects millions of Americans with their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of art, science and history exhibitions. State humanities councils, located in each state and U.S. territory, support community-based humanities programs that highlight such topics as local history, literature and cultural traditions. To learn more, visit www.sites.si.edu or www.alabamahumanities.org.

The Evelyn Burrow Museum is open Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free. Call 256.352.8457 or visit www.burrowmuseum.org.