Author Archive

Priya Chhaya

The Art of (virtual) gathering: Considering audiences with purpose and intention

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For the last fifteen years I have worked as a public history digital content creator. Much of my work has been learned on the job as I engage with the tools and technologies of multi-disciplinary storytelling—and more recently, consider how technology facilitates community engagement with history in both public and intimate settings. Read More

Go For the Moon: Building Complex Public History Projects

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Last July, Washington, D.C. area visitors and residents were treated to an incredible sight: an image of the Saturn V rocket from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that first put humans on the moon, projected onto the Washington Monument. This projection, known as Apollo 50: Go for the Moon, was a part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, organized by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM), that featured a weeklong series of events. Read More

PastForward: Places, voices, and livability

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This past fall in Houston, the National Trust for Historic Preservation gathered for its annual conference, PastForward. One of the key features of the conference is a series of marquee presentations called TrustLive. TrustLive presentations often feature a single speaker followed by a short panel discussion on a topic relevant to today’s preservation movement. Read More

Why do old places matter?

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“As I settle in a place, the place settles me.” Juhani Pallasmma, Forum Journal (Spring 2015)

00_29.3Cover_smallMore than fifteen months ago, my colleague at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Tom Mayes, embarked on a journey. For six months, he lived at the American Academy in Rome researching and thinking about one of the most central tenets of our profession: Why Do Old Places Matter? Read More

Beyond fifteen minutes of fame

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Earlier this year the Indian American Heritage Project at the Smithsonian launched its inaugural exhibition Beyond Bollywood. Housed in a gallery at the National Museum of Natural History through March 2015, the exhibition “explores the heritage, daily experience and numerous, diverse contributions that Indian immigrants and Indian Americans have made to shaping the United States.” Read More