Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Ironwood, Downtown Art Place to host Smithsonian exhibit

IRONWOOD - The city of Ironwood and Downtown Art Place have been selected to host an exhibit through the Smithsonian Museum in 2015.

Mara MacKay, project coordinator, received word Friday that Ironwood had been selected.

The exhibit, called "The Way We Worked," will be in the city for roughly two months.

To be considered as a host site for the exhibit, the city hosted a tour for a representative from the Michigan Humanities Council. Ironwood was in the running with another Upper Peninsula city, Calumet.

The tour consisted of stops at the Historic Ironwood Theatre, Miners Memorial Mural, Ironwood Depot and DAP.

According to Judith Dworkin, a program officer for MHC, reviewers of Ironwood's presentation were "impressed with the pre-site visit to Ironwood, and gave the community proposal high ratings for geographic diversity and space considerations."

The tour was co-planned by many local groups and organizations, including Friends of the Miners Memorial Heritage Park.

Ironwood will be one of five host sites in Michigan.

MacKay expects to receive more information and details about the exhibit in the coming weeks, including the dates for the exhibit, a program workshop and installation workshop.

Many visitors are expected to visit the exhibit locations, and activities are expected to be planned in conjunction with the events.

"I trust that the activities planned in conjunction with the Smithsonian exhibit will live up to the highest expectations of incoming travelers who will look forward to learning about the history and culture of the region," MacKay said.

She thanked everyone who attended the pre-site visit meetings and the "dedicated" strategy team members who made the event a "resounding success.

"There are so many people to thank and this was a true community endeavor," MacKay said. "The process of developing a community-centered event that has regional appeal is an ongoing effort and the award of the exhibits is only the beginning of planning and community development around historical tourism."

Anyone interested in becoming part of the project, or learning more about other historical tourism endeavors, can attend a working lunch on Jan. 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at DAP in Ironwood. Pre-registration is recommended.

For more information about the exhibit, becoming involved with the project or registering for the working lunch event, call 906-364-1296.

 
 
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