All workshops are interactive and designed to teach you concrete skills that you can use to tell untold histories.

All six workshops will run concurrently. When you arrive at the unconference, you will choose which workshop to attend.

Intro to Cultural Accessibility

Participate in an introduction to cultural accessibility in which we re-define disability. Learn about the social model of disability, disability etiquette and first person language. What are the eight human senses and how are organizations providing accommodations to best serve audiences with sensory sensitivities? Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and come away with valuable tools for working with and facilitating programming for people with disabilities.

Katie Samson is the Director of Programs for Art-Reach, an art services organization based in Philadelphia that creates, enhances, and advises accessible programming in arts & culture. Katie has taught as adjunct faculty at West Chester University in Disability Studies and for Jefferson University and Cooper Medical School. She has worked in the arts & cultural sector for over fifteen years as a museum educator, independent curator, and program consultant.

Negotiating Narratives

Negotiating Narratives is a 2019 New Jersey Council for the Humanities program that trains and coaches community members in facilitating conversations around contentious and difficult topics. Negotiating Narratives illuminates and engages community members with different perspectives on issues, themes, and topics important to your community. We will discuss strategies to support facilitators in dealing with the challenges of difficult conversations. Having conversations that explore differences, deepen understanding, and build relationships are essential to effective advocacy and action. From reading & conversation series to interactive workshops to think & drink programs, Negotiating Narratives trains and supports individuals, organizations, and communities in facilitating inclusive dialogue through reflection and shared inquiry. Participants will also learn how they can apply for and facilitate their own Negotiating Narratives conversation.

Jason Allen joined New Jersey Council for the Humanities [NJCH] in 2016; his work encompasses connecting and partnering with traditionally under-represented and under-served communities, such as African, Hispanic, LGBTQ, Millennial, and South Asian – Americans in projects utilizing humanities concepts and content to address community issues. Using human-centered design, Jason assists community partners in creating engaging and innovative programming, which links people that live, love, and work in New Jersey.

Tell Me a Story: A Queer Newark Oral History Workshop

There is no “single right way” to conduct an oral history. Join members of the Queer Newark Oral History Project team for this interactive workshop exploring their approach to interviewing. During this hands-on session, participants will gain experience conducting their own practice interviews.

A community-based and community-directed initiative supported by Rutgers University-Newark, QNOHP is dedicated to preserving the history of LGBTQ people and communities in Newark, New Jersey. We are committed to inclusivity and access. For more information visit https://queer.newark.rutgers.edu/

Curating in the Dark: The Search for Hidden Histories

How do we tell a story when the record has been lost or intentionally destroyed? How can we give voice to those stories that are left untold? This workshop will explain how to search for the missing information about the historic site, Historic Speedwell. We will discuss the challenges of curating and researching an exhibit with little to no primary source materials. We will also discuss the power of curatorial selection in cultural institutions and how the process of selecting stories for preservation can influence our cultural memory. Participants will receive the tools necessary to start their own investigations for hidden histories and create innovative ways to tell those stories.

Melanie Bump is the Curator of Collections and Exhibits and Maressa McFarlane is the Historic Education & Volunteer Supervisor at the Historic Sites unit of the Morris County Park Commission (MCPC). Melanie oversees the various collections and exhibitions of the MCPC, including rare books, archives, objects and photographs and Maressa directs the public programming at Historical Speedwell, including special events, family and school programs. They bring decades of experience in curating and museum education.

Re-Telling Black History: New Tactics for Difficult Topics

The mission of the Sankofa Collaborative is to build the capacity of individuals, groups, and organizations to learn about, present, and discuss the complex and difficult issues in the history and current experiences of African American citizens of NJ. With years of experience formulating workshops and websites to address issues of diversity and inclusion, the Sankofa Collaborative will take you through its history and provide you with insights on how to utilize workshops to address difficult African American history.

Linda Caldwell Epps is President and founder of 1804 Consultants and the Sankofa Collaborative. Dr. Caldwell Epps has over 40 years of experience in colleges and universities and cultural institutions addressing issues of diversity and inclusion. Dr. Sam Stephens is a Trustee of the Trent House Association, which works with City of Trenton to maintain the 1719 William Trent House Museum. He has led the Trent House Association’s work on expanding its research into and deepening its interpretation of slavery at the Museum. He is vice president of the Center for Assessment and Policy Development (CAPD), a nonprofit research and evaluation organization.  

Animating the Archives using Social Media

Social media keeps us in touch with family and friends and provides us with news and culture, but have you turned to social media to gain information about a historic event you wanted to better understand? Have you found yourself looking at what’s trending or searching through various amount of data for the full story? Social media can animate archives in the digital space. This workshop will share best practices for using primary sources on Twitter for storytelling. We will use tweets from the Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN) to weave a story together, thanks to the Twitter feature, a Twitter moment. Participants will learn how to navigate Twitter and other social media sites as an archival space ready for curation and animation.

Aleia M. Brown, PhD is the Program Manager for the Initiative on Climate and Environmental Justice and a Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies Public Fellow. Brown is the co-curator of Ubuntutu: Life Legacies of Love and Action, a travelling exhibition for the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation and co-author of the exhibition catalog. She established the Mazloomi-Women of Color Quilters Network collection on quiltindex.org, and co-founded #museumsrespondtoferguson and BlkTwitterstorians, two acclaimed digital humanities projects. You can find her work in The Black Scholar, Journal of Civil and Human Rights, and Museums and Social Issues.