CULTURAL ACTIVITY REPORT 5
CulturalActivity Report
InstitutionAffiliation
Oneof the most effective and innovative ways to preserve the humanculture and history is through museums. We usually see most of thesethings in books, on the television, and in newspapers but thanks tomuseums we can interactively get close to these things and appreciatethem. For example, seeing an artistic work like the Mona Lisa iscompletely different from seeing one of the million printed versionsof this painting. The perspective of something one derives fromseeing something first hand from a museum is quite different fromthat one would get from a second-hand source. Museums are veryeducative and bring what we learn from school to life. They provide awealth of information that helps many researchers conduct theirresearch. They are usually well organized, and the exhibitions arealso well maintained to ensure all displays are in the best state ofrepair, thus making it possible for these exhibitions to beexperienced by many generations. I am fond of appreciating art,history and culture and I recently visited the Augusta Museum ofHistory.
On4th June 2016, a couple of my classmates and I, making it five of usvisited the Augusta Museum of History Located in Augusta, Georgia,U.S. We reached the museum at around ten a.m., and we were all amazedby the beauty and vastness of the museum. It was filled with so manyitems, all beautiful works of art that almost left us drooling. Allthe exhibitions were just beautiful, and it could take a whole dayjust to get over the beauty of some of these items.
Oneof the exhibitions that caught my eye was The Godfather of Soul.According to our guide, this exhibition was the first of its kind. Itclearly told the story of how James Brown rose to fame. It featuredvery rare and memorable personal artifacts of Brown. It washighlighted through a perfect arrangement of personal artifacts andcostumes which James Brown wore from the 1960s and later on. Therewas also a King of Soul Crown Brown wore in the 1950s, and photos ofBrown and his family (his children), photos of him on tour and duringhis philanthropic activities. There were also programs from hismemorial services which were held in New York, South Carolina, andAugusta. Amazingly, audio-visual stations featuring his concertperformances were also there. At this exhibition, there were soundsof Browns music that enabled us to experience his musical evolution.There are oral histories which helped us learn a lot of his legacy asa musician, performer, and philanthropist. (James Brown | AugustaMuseum of History, from http://www.augustamuseum.org/JamesBrown)
Theother extraordinary display was the Celebrating a grand Traditionsection. This section explored how the sport of golf has evolved overthe years. It showed how the advances of balls, clubs and tees haveimproved technologically and the history of golf in the region ofAugusta. This exhibition also shows the people who influenced thegame one way of another. There were four of the oldest golf clubsdisplayed: the Augusta Country Club, the Forest Hills Golf Club, theAugusta National Golf Club and the Palmetto Golf Club. The majorpeople such as Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Patty Berg,and Tiger Woods, who have majorly impacted the golf world, wereshowcased. The Museums’ Rotunda also displayed the human sizebronze statues of Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmerand Jack Nicklaus. (Celebrating a Grand Tradition | Augusta Museum ofHistory, fromhttp://www.augustamuseum.org/CelebratingaGrandTradition)
Ingeneral, we were allowed a general tour of the museum first then ataround one p.m. to three p.m. we were led in groups of 15 through themuseum to the room where the processing occurs. Here artifacts fromvarious eras would be displayed, and we came to realize that many ofthe artifacts were not included in the exhibits of the museum due toissues of space or the condition of these artifacts. The experienceat the museum was very educating and exciting. Seeing all thesethings first hand made it all the more enjoyable and easier tounderstand and I believe I learned a lot from this experience.
References
AugustaMuseum of History Exhibitions. (n.d.). Retrieved June 06, 2016, fromhttp://www.augustamuseum.org/Exhibitions