TCPL Features two important exhibits at October, 4 Gallery Opening Night

Tompkins County Public Library offers after-hours access to two powerful exhibits during Downtown Ithaca’s Gallery Night on Friday October 4.

From 5 to 8 p.m., art, history and literature enthusiasts as well as members of the human services community are invited to view The Lives they Left Behind:  Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic and BANNED!, an exhibit celebrating the freedom to read.

 A humbling and heart-wrenching glimpse into the forgotten lives of residents of Willard Psychiatric Center, The Lives They Left Behind is a traveling exhibit featuring photographic and written profiles of patients whose stories were uncovered when 400 discarded suitcases were found in a hospital attic after the Center’s 1995 closing.  In addition to the traveling exhibit, some of the actual suitcases preserved by the New York State Museum will also be on display. 

The Lives They Left Behind was developed by The Community Consortium and is circulated by the Exhibition Alliance, Inc. of Hamilton, NY.  The Library exhibit is presented by the National Association on Mental Illness—Finger Lakes, and co-sponsored by the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County and The History Center in Tompkins County.  It is made possible with grant support from Janssen Pharmaceuticals.


BANNED!, curated by Suzanne Onodera, offers a thought-provoking look at banned and challenged books throughout history.  Its 17 artists, poets and librarians were asked to comment in words and images on censorship and the banning of books in this country. 

Werner Sun

This timely exhibit features artists as young as 9-years-old and draws attention to the current and growing issue of censorship, challenging and banning of books and free and open access to information.  Artists will be present at the opening.  Take advantage of the opportunity to meet them and discuss their choice of books.

The exhibit has been made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation with grant support from the Community Arts Partnership.
 
Gallery Night access to the Library will be through the BorgWarner Community Room door behind the TCAT bus shelter on Green Street.

The exhibit “The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic” comes to TCPL

Tompkins County Public Library, together with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Finger Lakes, presents the exhibit The Lives They Left Behind:  Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic. The exhibit will be on display at TCPL from September 30 until November 4.  An opening reception will take place in conjunction with Gallery Opening Night on Friday, October 4, from 5:00 – 8:00 PM.

In addition to the exhibit some of the actual suitcases and their contents, on loan from the New York State Museum, will be on display in the Avenue of the Friends' exhibit cases.  Darby Penney, one of the developers of the exhibit, will be present at the opening reception and will give a talk at the Library on Saturday, October 5 at 1 PM.  On Thursday, October 24 at 6:00 PM, Craig Williams, a curator at the New York State Museum and one-time director of the History Center at Ithaca, will give a presentation about the exhibit and the finding of the suitcases.

This is an emotional exhibit which paints a tragic portrait of the forgotten lives of the people who lived at Willard Psychiatric Center.  For a hundred and twenty five years, from 1869 to 1995, the hospital housed thousands of people who were, for various reasons, separated from society.  Some were homeless, some could not communicate in English, some suffered from depression or other illnesses, most were poor. Many spent the rest of their lives there, ignored by society and in many cases by their families.
After Willard closed, Craig Williams visited the hospital and found, in an attic, over four hundred suitcases that had been left behind when their owners moved on or died.  The New York State Museum has preserved these suitcases and their contents.  In 1998, Williams teamed up with psychiatrist Peter Stastny and Darby Penney, former director of recipient affairs, who both worked at the State Office of Mental Health, together with cinematographer Liza Rinzler, to piece together and record the stories and lives of the owners of these suitcases.

Two exhibits and a book resulted from this partnership:  Stastny and Darby Penney co-authored the book The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic; Craig Williams was instrumental in developing the New York State Museum exhibit Lost Cases, Recovered Lives: Suitcases From a State Hospital Attic which featured the suitcases and possessions of 12 former Willard patients; and the traveling exhibit which will be on display at TCPL.

The traveling exhibit The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic was developed by The Community Consortium and is circulated by The Exhibition Alliance, Inc., Hamilton, N.Y. 

The exhibit at TCPL is made possible by a grant from Janssen Pharmaceuticals and has been co-sponsored by the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County and the History Center.  TCPL is grateful to Jean Poland for her work in obtaining this exhibit and to Craig Williams for making the loan of the suitcases themselves possible.

BANNED! A new exhibit opens at TCPL on September 21, 2013

What have the following books got in common?  Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut; the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Lolita by Validmir Nabokov; James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl and I Write What I Like by Steven Biko; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Forever by Judy Blume; Black Beauty by Anna Sewell and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger; and Liar by Justine Larbalestier, Native Son by Richard Wright and 1984 by George Orwell.  

They are all “Banned Books”. That is they have been banned from some school or library somewhere or challenged as appropriate reading material for kids and adults at some time and are now featured in a new art exhibit at TCPL. Curated by Suzanne Onodera. The exhibit BANNED! opens in conjunction with the National Book Community’s annual Banned Books Week (September 22 – 28, 2013) and celebrates the freedom to read.

The intention of this exhibition is to call attention to the banned or challenged book throughout history in the United States. 

Claire Lesemann

BANNED! asks the question, “What sort of society would we be without freedom of access to information, freedom of ideas, and the freedom to read?”  It brings together 17 artists, poets, writers, librarians and community members who have been inspired to illustrate a challenged or banned book in a variety of different ways.

Carol Clune

 
The contributors, who vary from experienced artists and poets to those who have never exhibited publicly before, and range in age from as young as 9 years old, were charged by curator Onodera to draw attention to the current and growing issue of censorship, challenging and banning of books, and the threat to free and open access to information. They include Kenny Berkowitz, Duffy Berkowitz, Steve Carver, Carol Clune, Jane Dennis, Ariel Bullion – Eckert, Amy Emerson, Claire Lesemann, Tyi Mc Cray, Bridget Meeds, Tim Merrick, Trisica Munore, Suzanne Onodera, Barbara Page, Terry Plater and Werner Sun. 

Ariel Ecklund

BANNED! will be on display September 21 – December 19, 2013 at TCPL.  An opening reception will take place on Friday, October 4, from 5:00 to 8:00 PM during First Friday Gallery Night.  


This exhibit is made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation with grant support from the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.