What will you discover right here, right now during the 250th anniversary of our country’s independence?
For this anniversary year for our nation, the Library has started a project to document the people and places of Jackson, Platte, and Clay counties in partnership with the Kansas City Society for Contemporary Photography and local photographers.
The Founding Project: Learn and Contribute
We are asking community members to use disposable cameras to potentially contribute to a photographic survey of our communities taking place this summer. We will have an exhibit this December, as well as an online exhibit of this collection.
Tuesday, August 25 | 11:00 a.m.
Riverside Branch
Tuesday, August 25 | 6:00 p.m.
Raytown Branch
Wednesday, August 26 | 3:00 p.m.
Grandview Branch
Thursday, August 27 | 2:00 p.m.
Kearney Branch
Contribute Your Community Story or Reflection on America
This August, we want to collect reflections of people from across Jackson, Clay and Platte counties on our communities and country in this anniversary year. Staff will be available at the Midwest Genealogy Center on August 13 and 14 to record your reflections. If you have a photo or brief video to go with your reflection, we can collect them at that time.
Thursday, August 13 | 12:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Midwest Genealogy Center
Friday, August 14 | 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
Midwest Genealogy Center
Questions? Email us at digitalcollections@mymcpl.org
Have you ever seen photos from the first moon missions and gotten lost in the small details of everyday life they captured? Have you ever wondered what life was like right here, during the Civil Rights Movement or the fall of the Berlin Wall? Or have you wondered what your town looked like during something as simple as the release of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark?
Join us as we slow down, record, and reflect. We look forward to meeting you out in our communities and sharing with you The Founding, our collection reflecting on the start of our country, the beginnings of our communities, and the beginnings that happen all around us every day.
We have decided to work with the Kansas City Society for Contemporary Photography and local photographers to capture life in this moment, at the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We are challenging ourselves and each other to look at us – the people and places of Jackson, Platte, and Clay counties – through the eyes of others.
The goal of the project is to explore through photography, video, and oral histories the memories and celebrations of the founding of our nation, towns, communities, neighborhoods, and businesses. This project will document life throughout the MCPL three-county district, emphasizing:
- this moment in the development of local communities from a historical perspective
- celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
- the historical establishment and growth of local townships
- celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Jackson County
The material collected will be shared this winter through a new online platform for digital collections and exhibits at Midwest Genealogy Center and other MCPL locations.
Do you have questions or contributions? Email us at digitalcollections@mymcpl.org.