For immediate release:

Contact:
Kristin Aguilera
Museum of American Financial History
Communications Director
212-908-4695
kaguilera@financialhistory.org

Finance Museum to Open Migrant Farmworkers Exhibition
Bi-lingual exhibit explores the world behind
the supermarket shelves”

Lower Manhattan, New York - On Wednesday, June 16, the Museum of American Financial History will open "Coming Up on the Season: Migrant Farmworkers in the Northeast," an exhibition developed by the Cornell University Migrant Program. "Coming Up on the Season" traces the path of the fruits and vegetables we eat, and the lives of the people who grow and harvest them in the Northeastern United States.

Based on five years of fieldwork and documentation, the exhibit explores the world behind the supermarket shelves. Even in our mechanized world, having fresh, unblemished produce still means that someone has to pick it, or bunch it, or wash it, or pack it. The Northeast still grows much of the nation's food, and in no other region do migrants make up such a large part of the work force that produces it.

Excerpts from oral histories with workers and growers combined with contemporary photography by Drew Harty provide compelling views of the world of farmworkers today. Historic photographs help visitors understand the historical forces that have shaped farmwork. The project team collected artifacts rarely seen in museum exhibitions including tools historically used by migrant farmworkers and paintings by students in a Migrant Education Program. Interactive sections explore weight, pay and the trip north.

The Museum will host an opening reception for this exhibition on Thursday, June 24 from 5:00-7:00 pm. All are welcome to attend.

"Coming Up on the Season" is fully bi-lingual in English and Spanish, and it will be on display through December 2004 at 28 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Admission is $2. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm.

The Museum of American Financial History, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the nation's only independent public museum dedicated to the history of growth, opportunity, and entrepreneurship in our democratic free market economy. The Museum serves members, visitors to its gallery and website, and program participants nationwide with exhibits, events, publications, and scholarly resources. Educational programming promotes financial literacy and empowerment, drawing upon the Museum's unsurpassed document collection.

Photography: To request high-resolution images of objects in this exhibit, please e-mail kaguilera@financialhistory.org or call 212-908-4695

Navigation:

– Exhibit Main Page

– Press Release

– Highlights

– Download Brochure (pdf, 347kb)

– Credits