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Oakland Museum of California Partners with California State University Professors and Students on History Project

(Oakland, CA)—The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is partnering with professors and students of the California State University (CSU) to co-curate history exhibitions featuring a diverse range of relevant contemporary topics affecting the state. The project, titled What’s Happening, California?, launches with an installation titled, What’s Happening, Sacramento? which will be on view in the Museum’s Gallery of California History January 6 through March 24, 2013. The installation is the result of OMCA asking a class of nine history students at California State University Sacramento: “what’s going on in your community today?”

Led by OMCA curators and Sacramento State History Professor Lee Simpson, in What’s Happening, Sacramento? students document community perspectives on how important the Sacramento and American Rivers are to their region. The exhibition paints a rich picture of life in the Sacramento area through oral history interviews, interpretive text, short videos, and artifacts.

UPDATE:

In May 2013, the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) granted a Leadership in History Award to What’s Happening Sacramento? According to AASLH, the awards “establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all Americans. By publicly recognizing superior and innovative achievements, the Leadership in History Awards serve as an inspiration to others in the field.”