Archive for category: Press

Filson Statement on Public Higher Education Legislation

The Filson echoes the concerns of University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto and other leaders in higher education across Kentucky over pending legislation that would label the teaching of diverse and inclusive histories of the United States in public institutions of higher education as “divisive” or “discriminatory” concepts. As it did in 2022, the Filson stands by the position of the American Historical Association that,  

[T]he ideal of informed citizenship necessitates an educated public. Educators must provide an accurate view of the past in order to better prepare students for community participation and robust civic engagement. Suppressing or watering down discussion of “divisive concepts” in educational institutions deprives students of opportunities to discuss and foster solutions to social division and injustice. Legislation cannot erase “concepts” or history; it can, however, diminish educators’ ability to help students address facts in an honest and open environment capable of nourishing intellectual exploration.  

Though this legislation would not impact the Filson’s freedom to collect, preserve, and share histories that include and celebrate the contributions of everyone within a diverse Ohio Valley region, the Filson recognizes that a healthy ecosystem of honest and unrestricted research, teaching, and publishing is critical to the ongoing prosperity of our community and its democratic institutions. 

Richard H. C. Clay, President & CEO 

Patrick A. Lewis, Ph.D., Director of Collections & Research 

The Filson goes back to the 80s this February in 80s themed bash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It might be hip to be Square, but you’d be a total Dork to miss this rad party!

Join the Filson Historical Society on Friday, February 23 at 6:30 pm for the “Back to the 80s Party,” a 1980s themed blast to the past. You’ll have plenty of time to dance the Thriller or Pogo to your favorite music videos from big hair bands to cutting edge New Wave hits. An upstairs Food Court with period-appropriate entertainment and snacks will be available. Costumes are encouraged, so dust off your leather pants, pop that preppy collar on your Izod shirt, get out the hairspray, and participate in the costume contest, where you could win a free membership with tickets to the Filson music event of your choice in 2024.

This event is sponsored by The Nitty Gritty. Filson members receive a discount on costume rental for this event.

The “Back to the 80s Party” will be held on Friday, February 23 from 6:30-9:00 pm. Tickets for the event must be purchased in advance and are $45 for Filson members, $55 for non-members. Included in the price of admission are appetizers, entertainment, and a drink ticket. A cash bar will be available for additional drink purchases. For more information about this event and to purchase tickets, please visit filsonhistorical.org.

The Filson to host Jonathan Eig as Gertrude Polk Brown Speaker

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Filson Historical Society will host the Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series on Tuesday, January 30 at 6:00 p.m. at The Kentucky Center – Bomhard Theater, featuring New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Eig’s book, King: A Life.

Vividly written and exhaustively researched, Jonathan Eig’s King: A Life is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.—and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. In this revelatory new portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, the bestselling biographer gives us an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself. He casts fresh light on the King family’s origins as well as MLK’s complex relationships with his wife, father, and fellow activists. King reveals a minister wrestling with his own human frailties and dark moods, a citizen hunted by his own government, and a man determined to fight for justice even if it proved to be a fight to the death. As he follows MLK from the classroom to the pulpit to the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Memphis, Eig dramatically re-creates the journey of a man who recast American race relations and became our only modern-day founding father—as well as the nation’s most mourned martyr.

In this landmark biography, Eig gives us an MLK for our times: a deep thinker, a brilliant strategist, and a committed radical who led one of history’s greatest movements, and whose demands for racial and economic justice remain as urgent today as they were in his lifetime.

Jonathan Eig is a former senior writer for The Wall Street Journal. He is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including Ali: A Life, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season. Ken Burns calls him “a master storyteller,” and Eig’s books have been listed among the best of the year by The Washington PostChicago TribuneSports Illustrated, and Slate.

The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series will be held on Tuesday, January 30 at 6:00 p.m. at the Kentucky Center – Bomhard Theater, 501 West Main St., Louisville. Tickets are free for Filson members and $26.62 for non-members (taxes and fees included). This lecture is offered both in person and virtually. Parking fees are separate. Tickets for this event must be purchased from The Kentucky Center Ticket Service. Please call (502) 584-7777 or visit kentuckyperformingarts.org for tickets.

Initiated in 1993 as a memorial to the life of Gertrude Polk Brown and made possible by the generous support of her children, Dace Brown Stubbs and G. Garvin Brown III. The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series has brought both nationally and internationally recognized historians and journalists to Louisville, many of them Pulitzer Prize winners. Speakers are selected based on their overall excellence in research, writing, and speaking and are not restricted to historians. The Filson hosts up to five lectures per year in this series.

The Filson Historical Society Awards History Inspires Fellowships

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Filson Historical Society is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 History Inspires Fellowship (HIF). This unique program will allow artists to interpret the Filson’s collections with a creative filter.

In recent years, the Filson has established relationships with regional artists, either through the artist’ donations of materials to its collection or by artists conducting research for creative projects. The HIF program will build upon those relationships by promoting the Filson Historical Society as a resource for artistic scholarly research and inspiration while strengthening the bond with the creative community.

For the 2024 cycle, 13 applications featuring a wide array of creative project ideas, were reviewed by a cross-departmental committee made up of six Filson staff members. Of the 13, four were selected to receive the fellowship. The candidates are as follows:

John Akre is a stop motion and digital animator who creates films in his home studio using a variety of materials and techniques, including paper cutouts, and drawing directly on movie film.  He also enjoys creating animation in public places with the help of anybody who passes by. His History Inspires project will use the Louisville Transit Company Records, survey plats, architectural records, streetcar photographs and maps to find imagery in the Filson collections to create an animated short film about the connections created by and inherent in the streetcars that once tied together the streets and citizens of Louisville, and the single screen cinema palaces that once gave Louisvillians their gathering spaces.  Because his animation work is often created with community collaboration, a temporary stop motion studio will be set up in the Filson’s Carriage House where the public will be able to help as part of the summer cultural pass programming at the Filson.

Tammy Burke is a contemporary artist and garment maker for a costume company. During her fellowship, she plans to examine two common decorative practices, mosaic and quilting, and create versions of them that counter their traditional forms. Gathering inspiration from the patterns of the mosaic tile work featured in the Fergusion Mansion, she will take what is otherwise an immobile solid artwork and design an article of clothing that can be viewed outside of the mansion, making the mosaic flexible and more accessible.  In turn, she will study the Filson’s extensive quilt collection to find inspiration from the various historic patterns and designs of these delicate items to translate into weather resistant glass mosaic panels to be displayed outdoors.  This project will showcase parts of the Filson collection that may seem out of reach and not only take the collections outside of the physical location, but outside their material limits.

Zed Saeed is a photographer and writer who is deeply invested in historical research. Many of his projects start out with weeks, and sometimes months of in-depth research into a topic.  As a History Inspires fellow, he intends to create a photo showcase drawing on the Filson’s manuscripts, photographs, library, and museum collections to gain understanding of the history of race relations in Louisville and the heyday of Walnut Street. The archival research will be incorporated into his creative process by photographing specific locations along what is now known as Muhammed Ali Boulevard to tell the tragic story of Walnut Street’s rise and fall, of race relations and the grand dreams of urban renewal that destroyed it.  Saeed’s project will culminate with an article in “Ohio Valley History,” a peer-reviewed scholarly journal jointly produced by the Filson Historical Society, the University of Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Ashley Thursby is an artist in her 16th season with Louisville Ballet.  A dancer and choreographer, she plans to delve into the archives of Alun Jones-Helen Starr, and Vincent Falardo collections to create a dance piece where individuals can experience the power of storytelling that is built through connecting the mind and body with movement. By utilizing both visual and written design excerpts from the archives, she plans to create a work that can be performed in a non-traditional dance venue and incorporates audience participation.  Through this process of sharing, the stories of Louisville Ballet’s history will strengthen the ties of past and present within our arts community.

The History Inspire Fellows will begin their research in January 2024 and meet with Filson staff on a regular basis to discuss their progress. Each project for this cycle will conclude in Fall 2024 with an event sharing their project. These events will be open to the public and dates will be announced in the second half of the year. In 2026, an exhibit will be planned that will feature several of the artists’ work alongside the items utilized from the Filson’s collection.

A second round of History Inspires Fellowships for the 2025 cycle will open in the spring of 2024 with a fall submission deadline. To learn more about the Filson’s fellowship programs, please visit filsonhistorical.org/about-us/fellowships.

The Filson announces opening of “Animals in the Archives”

LOUISVILLE, KY – In collaboration with the 2023 Louisville Photo Biennial, the Filson Historical Society is launching an exhibition featuring pet photography culled from the organization’s archives titled “Animals in the Archives.” The exhibit will be on display from September 8, 2023, through February 9, 2024.

From the inception of photography, pets have been a common theme that can be found throughout family photograph collections. These images document and exemplify the unbreakable bond between people and animals throughout history. This exhibit explores pet photography from the Filson’s archives and visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the Ohio Valley families that owned them.

The public opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Friday, September 22 from 5:00-6:00 pm. The opening will feature refreshments and short remarks from the curator and sponsors at 5:15 p.m. All participants are encouraged to register in advance. To register for this event, please visit www.filsonhistorical.org. This event is free and open to the public.

“Animals in the Archives” is sponsored by Stock Yards Bank & Trust.

“Animals in the Archives” will be open for viewing Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm through February 9, 2024, at the Filson Historical Society, 1310 S. 3rd Street, Louisville. Tours of the exhibit and grounds are free, but reservations are strongly encouraged.

For more information about this exhibit, please contact Heather Potter, Curator of Photographs and Prints, at gro.l1711656016aciro1711656016tsihn1711656016oslif1711656016@rett1711656016oph1711656016 or (502) 635-5083. For more information on Filson events, please visit filsonhistorical.org.

Announcing the African American History Initiative

LOUISVILLE, KY – Since its founding in 1884, the mission of the Filson Historical Society has been to collect, preserve, and share the region’s history. The organization is proud to announce the latest manifestation of this continuing mission, the African American History Initiative (AAHI). The public launch of this initiative will be held on Friday, June 9 during the opening of the exhibit “A Better Life for Their Children.”

The AAHI will focus on preserving the stories and histories of Black citizens of Louisville, Southern Indiana, and the Ohio Valley region, providing greater public access to these important legacies, and promoting community partnerships to foster meaningful conversations about our past, present, and future. It will be a permanent component of the Filson’s Department Collections and Research, with a dedicated Curator of African American Collections. This long-term effort will expand the Filson’s collections and educational programs while building relationships and filling in gaps in the existing historical record.

While the Filson is one of the region’s premier historical archives and research institutions, the AAHI will also work to build partnerships with community institutions and organizations to promote access to the shared history of the Black community, creating opportunities for dialogue and collaboration. The Filson is committed to working alongside its partners to create a more inclusive and equitable society, and the AAHI is a vital part of this effort.

The AAHI will be supported by a $3.5 million dollar endowment, providing permanent funding for this initiative at the Filson. This investment will enable sustained engagement with the African American community and provide funding for salary, outreach, and associated program and collections expenses. To date, the Filson has received more than $2,260,000 in contributions and commitments toward this goal, including an $82,000 Brown-Forman Foundation grant for initial operations funding, to kick off this new chapter in the Filson’s history.

The public is invited to join the Filson in celebration and support of this important work by attending the public launch of the initiative, and the celebration of the Brown-Forman Foundation Grant, at 5:00 pm on Friday, June 9. The announcement will also celebrate the opening of the exhibit “A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools that Changed America” which includes photographs, storytelling, and original curation by Andrew Feiler. The Filson is located at 1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville. The AAHI announcement and exhibit opening are both free and open to the public.

For more information about the African American History Initiative, please contact Jamie Evans, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, at gro.l1711656016aciro1711656016tsihn1711656016oslif1711656016@snav1711656016ej1711656016 or (502) 635-5083. For more information on Filson happenings, please visit filsonhistorical.org.

FHS among recipients of the 2023 Kentucky History Awards

LOUISVILLE, KY – The Filson Historical Society was presented with three awards from the Kentucky Historical Society on Saturday, June 3 at the Thomas D. Clark History Center in Frankfort. Filson staff were recognized for their work on the website “Resurrecting the First American West” with a Publication Award – Website, while the Community History Fellowship Program received the Community Impact Award. Former intern Isaac Bates was named the Public History Intern of the Year, which recognized his work in cataloging the Col. Charles P. Morrow (1877-1935) papers and photos.

Dr. Patrick Lewis, Director of Collections and Research at the Filson, said, “It’s great to see the potential of these winning projects recognized by our funders at the outset and by a statewide audience after we’ve worked so hard on them. This was a fantastic celebration of work from every corner of the state—one of the best days of the year for Kentucky historians.”

Revived and expanded in 2021 and 2022 with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, “Resurrecting the First American West” is an online collection of letters, financial records, sermons, books, maps, and objects relating to the Ohio River Valley in the mid-1700s through the early 1800s. The updated project expanded on the original First American West, which was done in conjunction with the Library of Congress and the University of Chicago and had been offline since 2016. The Publication Award recognizes the expansion of the project that highlights the experiences of those originally excluded, including the voices of women, those enslaved, and the Indigenous communities that called our region home.

Funded by the Jewish Heritage Fund, the Community History Fellowship Program brings together history advocates from diverse backgrounds from all over Louisville. Developed and co-led by Dr. Abby Glogower, Curator of Jewish Collections, Dr. Patrick Lewis, Director of Collections and Research, and Emma Bryan, Community Engagement Specialist, fellows in the program meet regularly to explore historical research, documentation, and interpretation, and then use the methods learned in real time through individual history projects. These projects have enduring value to the fellows’ home communities.

“Working and learning alongside our Community History Fellows is truly an honor,” Glogower said. “The dedication, passion, and curiosity they bring to their projects inspires us all. We’re grateful for the opportunity to explore new ways of studying local history and amplifying diverse perspectives and voices in the process.”

The Filson would like to thank the Kentucky Historical Society for hosting an inspiring celebration of history across the commonwealth. For more information about these awards, please contact Jamie Evans, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, at gro.l1711656016aciro1711656016tsihn1711656016oslif1711656016@snav1711656016ej1711656016 or (502) 635-5083. To learn more about these projects, please visit filsonhistorical.org.

Photo: (left to right) Isaac Bates, Jennie Cole, Director of Collections and Research Patrick Lewis, and Abby Glogower.

The Filson Hosts Karen Tumulty as Gertrude Polk Brown Speaker

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Filson Historical Society will host the Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series on Thursday, June 22 at 6:00 p.m. at The Kentucky Center – Bomhard Theater. Featuring author Karen Tumulty and her book, “The Triumph of Nancy Reagan,” this interview style lecture will be moderated by Richard Clay, President and CEO of the Filson.

The made-in-Hollywood marriage of Ronald and Nancy Reagan is more than a love story—it’s the partnership that made him president. Of the pair, Nancy was the one with the sharper instincts about people, the superior radar for trouble, and the keen sense of how to secure his place in history. The only person in the world to whom Ronald Reagan felt truly close, Nancy understood how to foster his strengths and compensate for his weaknesses. Neither timid nor apologetic about wielding her power, Nancy Reagan made herself a place in history.

But that confidence took years to develop. Nancy’s traumatic early childhood instilled in her a lifelong anxiety and a craving for security. Born into a broken marriage, she spent seven years yearning for the absent mother who abandoned her to pursue an acting career. When she met Ronnie, who had a difficult upbringing of his own, the two fractured halves became whole. And as Ronnie turned from acting to politics, she did too, helping build the scaffolding of his rise and cultivating the wealthy and powerful figures who would help pave his way. Not only was Nancy crucial in shaping Ronald’s White House team and in softening her husband’s rhetoric, she became an unseen force pushing her husband toward what she saw as his grandest purpose—to shake his image as a warmonger and leave behind a more peaceful world.

This book explores the multifaceted character of Nancy Reagan and reveals new details surrounding the tumultuous presidency. The Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty spent four years interviewing the people who knew this couple best and draws on overlooked archives, letters, memoirs, and White House records, compiling the most extensive biography of Nancy Reagan yet. From the AIDS epidemic to tensions with the Soviets and the war on drugs, this book shows how Nancy Reagan became one of the most influential First Ladies of the century.

Karen Tumulty is a political columnist for The Washington Post. Before joining the Post, Tumulty wrote for Time magazine. She is based in Washington, DC.

The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series will be held on Thursday, June 22 at 6:00 p.m. at the Kentucky Center – Bomhard Theater, 501 West Main St., Louisville. Tickets are free for Filson members and $26.33 for non-members (taxes and fees included).  Tickets for this event must be purchased from The Kentucky Center Ticket Service. Please call (502) 584-7777 or visit kentuckyperformingarts.org for tickets.

Initiated in 1993 as a memorial to the life of Gertrude Polk Brown and made possible by the generous support of her children, Dace Brown Stubbs and G. Garvin Brown III. The Gertrude Polk Brown Lecture Series has brought both nationally and internationally recognized historians and journalists to Louisville, many of them Pulitzer Prize winners. Speakers are selected based on their overall excellence in research, writing, and speaking and are not restricted to historians. The Filson hosts up to five lectures per year in this series.

“A Better Life for Their Children” exhibit opens May 26

LOUISVILLE, KY – The Filson Historical Society will host the traveling photography exhibit, “A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools That Changed America” May 26-August 4, 2023. The exhibit includes photographs, storytelling, and original curation by Andrew Feiler.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, a visionary partnership between a Black educator and white Jewish business leader launched transformational change across the segregated South. A Better Life for their Children is a traveling photography exhibition about the Rosenwald Schools that Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald partnered in creating between 1912 and 1937 to serve black students in rural communities. The program built 4,978 schools across fifteen southern and border states including 155 in Kentucky. Rosenwald schools created educational access for African Americans in places where it had been severely restricted.  Of the original schools, only about 500 survive, 3 of which are in Jefferson County. Atlanta-based photographer Andrew Feiler spent more than three years documenting the remaining schools and the stories that live on in generations of graduates.  This body of work became a book by the same title, published by University of Georgia Press in 2021.

“We often see America’s challenges as intractable, especially those related to race,” said photographer and author Andrew Feiler. “Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald reached across divides of race, religion, and region and they changed this nation. Their accomplishment speaks to us today. Individual actions matter; we can make America a better place for all.”

Andrew Feiler is a photographer, author, and fifth generation Georgian. Having grown up Jewish in Savannah, he has been shaped by the rich complexities of the American South. Feiler has long been active in civic life. He has helped create over a dozen community initiatives, serves on multiple not-for-profit boards, and is an active advisor to numerous elected officials and political candidates. His art is an extension of his civic values.

Feiler was named “Book Photographer of the Year” by Prix de la Photographie Paris in 2022 and A Better  Life for Their Children won the gold medal for documentary book. The book also won the International Photography Awards 2022 first place for documentary book. It has been honored with an Eric Hoffer Award, an Axiom Award Gold Medal, and a Book, Jacket, and Journal Award from the Association of University Presses. Photolucida named Feiler’s Rosenwald school images a 2020 Top 50 portfolio and Photoville selected them for the 2020 edition of The Fence, an outdoor exhibition displayed internationally in eleven cities. The solo exhibition of this work is now on tour.

Feiler’s photographs have been instrumental in the campaign to create a new US national historical park and inspired the composition of a symphony. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, L’OEil de la Photographie, Architect, The Forward as well as on CBS This Morning and NPR.

His prints have been displayed in galleries and museums including solo exhibitions at such venues as the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, and International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro, NC. His photographs are in public and private collections including that of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. More of his work can be seen at andrewfeiler.com.

The public opening reception for the exhibit will be held on June 9 from 5:00-6:00 pm. The opening will feature refreshments and short remarks from the curator and sponsors at 5:15 p.m. All participants are encouraged to register in advance. To register for this event, please visit www.filsonhistorical.org. This event is free and open to the public.

“A Better Life for Their Children” is generously sponsored by Stock Yards Bank & Trust and Skipper and Hana Martin.

“A Better Life for Their Children” will be open for viewing Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm beginning May 26 and will close on August 4, 2023, at the Filson Historical Society, 1310 S. 3rd Street, Louisville. Tours of the exhibit and grounds are free, but reservations are strongly encouraged.

For more information about this exhibit, please contact Maureen Lane, Curator of Museum Collections at gro.l1711656016aciro1711656016tsihn1711656016oslif1711656016@neer1711656016uam1711656016 or (502) 635-5083. For more information on Filson events, please visit filsonhistorical.org.

The Filson Announces Spring 2023 Fellowship Recipients

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Filson Historical Society is pleased to announce the winners of the Spring 2023 round of Filson Fellowships. These fellowships encourage the scholarly use of our nationally significant collections by providing researchers with financial support for travel and lodging. Candidates were chosen from a strong pool of applicants from around the country and internationally with research interests related to the history and culture of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley.

The following candidate has been awarded a one-week Filson Fellowship:

Dr. Matthew Stanley, Associate Professor of History, University of Arkansas, “Capital Reconciliation: Owners, Workers, and the Political Economy of Blue-Gray Reunion.”

The following candidate has been awarded a two-week Filson Fellowship:

Dr. Robert Murray, Associate Professor of History, Mercy College, “Hemp in the Ohio Valley.”

The Filson anticipates that fellows will publish the results of their research in “Ohio Valley History,” a peer-reviewed journal published jointly by the Filson, the Cincinnati Museum Center, and the University of Cincinnati.

To learn more about the Filson’s fellowship programs, please visit filsonhistorical.org/education/research-fellowships/. Filson Fellowships are made possible in part by the Bullitt Homestead Preservation Trust and the Boehl Trust.

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Since its founding in 1884, The Filson Historical Society has preserved the region’s collective memory, not only of Kentucky but also of the Ohio Valley and the Upper South. The Filson continues to collect and tell the significant stories of the region. An independent historical society, The Filson serves the public through its extensive research collections and numerous educational opportunities. The Filson is headquartered in Mansion in Old Louisville and offers research facilities, events, and rental space.