Hi, Stories! Museum & Community

This project centers on the story of Courtney Smith and Catie Atkinson, the two staff members at the Orange County Historical Museum, and how they weave local history into the fabric of Hillsborough’s community and bring it to life. Through diverse public events they ensure that history is no longer confined to display cases and artifacts, but lives in the daily lives of Hillsborough. The new April exhibition United We Stand, which my work follows from its early research, through artifact curation and exhibit installation, to its final public opening. This complete behind the scenes project reveals how a small museum plans and realizes a new exhibition from start to finish. Despite having no professional team nor sufficient funding, Courtney and Catie still delivered a deeply successful show that thoughtfully connected history with the community, earning admiration and affection across Hillsborough.

As an exchange student from China spending only one semester at Duke, I was deeply anxious at first about traveling to an unfamiliar small town to photograph local stories. Fortunately, I met Courtney and Catie. They were incredibly kind to me, even when we first met with each other. They constantly encouraged me, reassuring me that I was doing more than enough whenever I doubted myself. To me, Courtney and Catie are far more than just people in my project. They have become my closest friends in the United States. Thanks to them, I was able to move from being an outsider to a participant in the life of Hillsborough.