Project Outline: Unpolished Legacies Online

This summer, I will work with Unpolished Legacies Online, which is dedicated to teaching students about Rhode Island's natural, cultural, and industrial histories. I will interview local artists, write transcriptions and essays, and edit content for the digital site.

Jun 05, 2024

Samantha Ho

Laidlaw Scholar, Brown University

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Unpolished Legacies Online

Supervisors: Becci Davis and Holly Ewald (Brown University)

Project Background:

Unpolished Legacies Online is a digital resource for middle and high school education that uses art to explore Rhode Island’s cultural and natural histories. This project supports instruction on local Indigenous, botanical, industrial, and post-industrial heritage using Mashapaug Pond as a focal point and key site of study. By centering the work of local artists who engage in advocacy and activism through their artistic practice, Unpolished Legacies Online enables students and teachers to realize the role that the arts can take in raising awareness of contemporary issues, exploring historical content from multiple perspectives, and deepening discussion and understanding.

The intention of this website is to share different perspectives on the impact of the Gorham Silver Manufacturing Company on Rhode Island and beyond, brought together by the Unpolished Legacies project (2019). The original project consisted of a series of collaborative actions and interventions in response to the RISD Museum’s 2019 exhibit, Gorham Silver, Designing Brilliance, 1850-1970, which included the production of a zine, a pop-up exhibition featuring twelve local artists, a blog, two community conversation panels, and an evening of performances.

As a research assistant for this project, I am collaborating with local artists to discuss their involvement with Unpolished Legacies Online. This primarily involves researching, conducting interviews with, and writing essays on individual artists and their work. I also support other research, writing, and editing needs related to the project, with the ultimate goal of preparing the online site for launch later this year.