Local Sports Celebrated in Smithsonian Exhibit
Football. Baseball. Horseracing. Bowling. Fishing. Hunting. People across Louisiana enjoy these sports and many others, contributing to our state’s reputation as “Sportsman’s Paradise.” Now the Smithsonian Institute and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities offer local communities a new way to celebrate the games, athletes and competitions that enrich our communities. In spring 2016, an exhibition produced by the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program will arrive in Louisiana for a yearlong tour that stops in six sites. The LEH invites smaller museums, libraries and cultural institutions, in towns of fewer than 20,000 residents, to apply today to host the 2016-2017 “Hometown Teams” tour.
“Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America” marks the seventh time that the LEH has partnered with the Smithsonian and Louisiana communities to host a Museum on Main Street tour. Developed by the Smithsonian, “Hometown Teams” will travel across Louisiana beginning in March 2016. “Hometown Teams” will capture the stories that unfold on the neighborhood fields and courts, and the underdog heroics, larger-than-life legends, fierce rivalries and gut-wrenching defeats. Whether it is professional sports or those played on the collegiate or scholastic level, amateur sports or sports played by kids on the local playground, sports are everywhere in America.
Interested parties should submit applications (see below) no later than 5pm on March 16. The exhibition requires 850 square feet of exhibition space and stays in each location for six weeks. Sites are selected based on geographic diversity, strength of application, and a commitment to partnerships. Final selection is conducted in partnership with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in Natchitoches and Louisiana Main Street, a division of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. The LEH asks potential host organizations to develop public programs that explore the unique history of their communities. Along with generating new interest in local history, the project aims to build capacity at the partner organizations. Each site will receive grant funds from the LEH for publicity, exhibition costs, and programming, and staff from each site will attend planning and installation workshops. Sites will apply for grants and report on their budget, audience size, program quality, and future plans.
To learn more about the exhibit and the requirements for each site, contact LEH VP of Content Brian Boyles at [email protected] or 504.620.2632. To apply, complete the application below. Sites will be notified by April 1, 2015.
