As we gear up for the opening of the special exhibition Corita Kent and the Language of Pop, we’re also preparing to welcome the national oral history project StoryCorps to campus.
On September 4, 5, and 6, StoryCorps’ signature MobileBooth (an Airstream trailer) will be parked at Harvard’s Science Center plaza to record interviews with people from all walks of life. Inside the recording studio on wheels, participants will have a private 40-minute session to tell their stories. In typical StoryCorps interview fashion, pairs (usually family or friends) will have the opportunity to share memories and ask each other questions in an intimate, conversational format. Participants are especially encouraged to reflect on experiences inspired by artist Corita Kent and our exhibition of her work.
Kent lived in Boston from 1968 until her death in 1986, and in 1971 she created a bold, pop art design for the Boston Gas (now National Grid) tank located alongside I-93 south of downtown Boston. This oral history project, a partnership between StoryCorps, the Harvard Art Museums, and National Grid, aims to reach those who may have had local knowledge of Kent or who have lived in communities near the iconic gas tank. The stories we gather will be preserved for future generations.
Interview appointments are limited; sign up and learn more here.
Corita Kent and the Language of Pop is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and major corporate support from National Grid. Harvard Common Spaces has also provided support for the StoryCorps project. WBUR is the media partner for the StoryCorps project.
StoryCorps is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve their stories. Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 55,000 interviews with over 95,000 participants. Each conversation is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
