Cushing
The Collective
2021
Keeping History Alive: An Intern’s Experience with Exhibitions

Keeping History Alive: An Intern’s Experience with Exhibitions

By Joshua Carley | 11-04-2021

Over the Summer 2021 semester, I have had the opportunity to serve as an intern at the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, assisting Dr. Francesca Marini with exhibition work, specifically the final phase of the Coming Out Together to Share Our History exhibition. Never would I have imagined the profound impact this experience would have on me. As I think and look at the material that we have collected and displayed, I am struck with just how important each and every piece is to the greater story that is our history. I am so proud of this exhibition, which showcases the lives, lifestyles, and significant moments of history of the LGBTQIA+ community, and I am so happy to share it with the Texas A&M family.

A chair in a display case, part of an exhibition on LGBTQIA+ history. The chair is covered by a collage of newspaper clippings, photos, images, and words, representing 47 years of LGBTQIA+ history and activism. — **Chair created by Heather Gabriel and Jim Wyatt for a “Chair-ity” auction at the Ripcord leather bar in Houston, TX (2016).**
On loan from the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender History (GCAM). Photo by Joshua Carley, August 2021.

Detail of a chair covered by a collage of newspaper clippings, photos, images, and words, representing 47 years of LGBTQIA+ history and activism. The detail shows photos and text. Photos depict the victims of the 2016 shooting at the Pulse club in Orlando, Florida, and the text reads: “In honor of the 49 victims of the Orlando LGBTQ nightclub shooting.” — **Chair, detail: “In honor of the 49 victims of the Orlando LGBTQ nightclub shooting.”**
Photo by Joshua Carley, August 2021.

In times of crisis, the queer community showcases their strength by coming together, unifying for a common goal, either to fight and stand for their rights, or to stand tall in solidarity with one another in the face of adversity. This exhibition features moments like these, captured in photos and in works of art, such as the chair created by Heather Gabriel and Jim Wyatt, and loaned to the exhibition by the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender History (GCAM). Multilayered, both physically and emotionally, this piece explores and showcases the queer community after the Pulse shooting in 2016 and represents LGBTQIA+ history and activism from the 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising on. Newspaper clippings, images, and a collage of notable queer figures in history all form this assemblage piece, adhered on a standard wooden chair. When I first saw this chair in person, I was surprised by how much I was emotionally affected by it. The chair brought back a lot of memories and feelings of the community in 2016, and it reiterates just how horrific the Pulse incident was. Ultimately, however, the chair serves as a symbol of unity, showing how the sum of the parts can be a beautiful thing. This is why the chair is the perfect representation of this exhibition, a physical representation of Coming Out Together to Share Our History.

Leading up to the exhibition, the Cushing Library started receiving the objects and artifacts from our collaborators, with each shipment more interesting than the previous one. My experience could be likened to a kid at Christmas, opening packages and getting excited by each and every thing that is inside. I am very fortunate to have been able to handle these objects, and I am glad to have been able to spend some extended time with these artifacts and really pour over them.

Image of a photo album, representing the lives of life partners Pat Gustavson and Mignon Weisinger. There is a written note on the inside cover, and two pages of the album are displayed, with photos of Pat and Mignon together, and other photos. — **Photo album, representing the lives of life partners Pat Gustavson and Mignon Weisinger (dated 1940s-1970s).**
Written note on inside cover, and two pages of the album. On loan from the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections/LGBT History Research Collection. Photo by Joshua Carley, August 2021.

Out of all the objects that are a part of this exhibition, I am most enamored with a scrapbook loaned by the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections/LGBT History Research Collection, representing the lives of life partners Pat Gustavson and Mignon Weisinger. Pat and Mignon met in the 1940s while students at the University of Houston and went on to successful careers. Many items displayed in the exhibition showcase the monumental moments in queer history, or the exciting nightlife culture, but, to me, the intimate moments and the life captured in these scrapbook photos are the most raw and personal. Growing up as a queer kid, the only representations of queer people were in media, either as the quippy side character, or showing the sex & drug ridden party culture. Never was there a display of simple domestic life or healthy relationships. This scrapbook brings to light the everyday life of queer couples: Pat and Mignon’s lives are documented here, including through pictures of their homes and through short writings. Readers interested in Pat and Mignon’s story may refer to an article titled “A 54-Year Romance,” published in 2019 by OutSmart, Houston’s LGBTQ Magazine (https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2019/03/a-54-year-romance/).

Inside cover of a scrapbook documenting the first year of activity of the L.O.A.F. organization. It shows the drawing of a pair of loafer shoes, accompanied by text reading: “L.O.A.F., The First Year…” — **Inside cover of the scrapbook documenting the first year of activity of L.O.A.F.**
On loan from the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections/LGBT History Research Collection. Photo by Joshua Carley, August 2021.

In a similar vein, this exhibition features a scrapbook documenting the first year of L.O.A.F., Lesbians Over the Age of Fifty (Houston, Texas): this group is still thriving, and it first met in 1987. Arden Eversmeyer started this organization after she lost her life partner in 1985, with the goal to create “a safe haven for lesbians to have social interaction” (“Welcome” page, http://lesbiansoverage50.org). The group was able to help those aged 50 and older, seeking community in a society where finding one was difficult: this demographic had no sort of outlet to group together. When Arden finally created this space, many others were able to join and take part in events. The scrapbook documents the group’s activities in the first year, through meeting minutes, calendars, photos, and letters.

Documentation and preservation are vital: because of the efforts of repositories and archives, we are able to witness and experience the lives of these overlooked and marginalized communities. For decades, and even now, there is a constant battle to be seen and heard, and with organizations like the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum, or the oral history collections from Rice University (also represented in the exhibition), we are able to learn from the past, see what has changed, and know what we can implement for the future.

Coming Out Together to Share our History: LGBTQIA+ Collections in College Station, Houston, and Beyond is on display at the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives from July 12 through December 16, 2021. The exhibition is co-curated by the Cushing Library in College Station and eight institutional partners in Houston:

Inquiries: Dr. Francesca Marini, fmarini@library.tamu.edu

Tags: Arden Eversmeyer; Cushing Memorial Library and Archives; Heather Gabriel; Internships; Pat Gustavson; LGBTQIA+ History Exhibition; Lesbians Over the Age of Fifty (L.O.A.F.); Queer History; Mignon Weisinger; Jim Wyatt.

Cushing Memorial Library and Archives Collections: Women’s and Gender Studies Collection.

Contact Us: cushingcollective@library.tamu.edu

Joshua Carley is a Senior Performance Studies major, Museum Studies & Graphic Design double minor from College Station, Texas. During his time at A&M, he is most interested in researching audience interactivity and the symbiotic relationship between the spectator and the performer. Part of this practice comes to form in exploring the museum/gallery space as a conduit for this interactivity, and he seeks to continue in breaking down traditional barriers and rules of such institutions.