LEH announces next Museum on Main Street tour

The Smithsonian Institution and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities have partnered to bring a tour of the Museum on Main Street exhibition Voices and Votes: Democracy in America to Louisiana. LEH is accepting applications from sites interested in hosting the exhibition now through July 31, 2021. Voices and Votes will arrive in Louisiana in April 2022 for a yearlong tour with stops at six sites, ending in January 2023.

When American revolutionaries waged a war for independence they took a leap of faith that sent ripple effects across generations. They embraced a radical idea of establishing a government that entrusted the power of the nation not in a monarchy, but in its citizens. Voices and Votes is based on a major exhibition currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History called American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith.

The traveling Voices and Votes exhibition has many dynamic features, including historical and contemporary photos; educational and archival video; engaging multimedia interactives with short games and additional footage, photos, and information; and historical objects like campaign souvenirs, voter memorabilia, and protest material.

The 2022–23 Voices and Votes tour in Louisiana is the centerpiece of a statewide initiative by the LEH focusing on civic engagement, and asks Louisiana residents to think critically about questions such as:

• Who has the right to vote?
• What are the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens?
• Whose voices will be heard?
• How do you participate as a citizen?

More details about the exhibition, who may apply to host it, and criteria may be found here.

Additional information about Voices and Votes is also available here.

The LEH will host an informational webinar for sites interested in hosting Voices and Votes at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 10, 2021. Please click here to register for the webinar.

.