In America, the past never seems to settle, but is rather ever renewed as the epicenter for present battles. This is exemplified by Cornwall’s own memorials to the Civil War and The First Foreign Mission School, both erected with great pride in their day, and both suddenly controversial by our back to back eras of Black Lives Matter and Trump. Jake Barton has spent his career designing projects like the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the media for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Greenwood Rising the Tulsa Race Massacre Museum. In this talk, he will explore how, regardless of scale, Memorials and Museums are built to concretize the past, ie “never forget”, but instead become lightning rods for conflict, drawing out controversies in their creation, and ongoing wars as our culture evolves over time.

Jake Barton is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Local Projects, an experience and exhibit design firm that creates groundbreaking and personal experiences. His credits include landmark projects like the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the London Mithraeum, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Registration is required at cornwalllibrary.org.