Jan. 2023 Executive Director Address

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Hello. My name is Anna Tucker and I’m the Executive Director at the Framingham History Center. I’m very excited about the year we have ahead of us – full of new programs, new exhibitions, and the return of the FHC’s beloved House Tour in May 2023. This is also a year full of anniversaries and we have a double anniversary to celebrate together. It’s both the 135th anniversary of the Framingham History Center as it’s known today, and it’s also the 150th dedication anniversary of Edgell Memorial Library where I’m standing right now. In his 1873 dedication address, George Brown talked to a large crowd that had gathered for this special occasion, and he spoke of his hope that this would be a site where people could explore quote “the ever changing hue of our earthly joys and sorrows of human hopes and fears.” And while this was originally dedicated as a library in honor of union soldiers, we continue this purpose at the Framingham History Center, where our mission is to connect community through the exploration of Framingham’s past, present, and future. In support of this exploration, we are very excited to announce the opening of our newest exhibition in September of 2023 named “Collective Journeys: Framingham’s Global Migration Story, 1960-present,” and we’ve already started programming in anticipation of this launch including the opening of our very first pop-up traveling exhibition Co curated by the Framingham History Center and Framingham High School students: Rose Boulay, Carlos Estrada, and Kaillane Gomez. This multilingual exhibition explores the history of supports for immigrants throughout Framingham and will travel to local libraries and institutions. We also had a very special event yesterday [Sunday, Jan. 29] featuring Cheryl Hamilton and Henry St. Julien. During this presentation they discussed the power of belonging and the importance of sharing our stories with each other Henry St. Julien talked about his own journey immigrating from Haiti to Framingham as a small child and the power of one individual, Dr. Peter Dittami, and helping with this transition. In addition to our special programming with “Collective Journeys,” we also have several opportunities to engage both on site and beyond our museum walls. We have two new programming series that just launched Crafts with History and Hikes through History, and of course we have the return of the House Tour in May of 2023. Whether this is your very first time engaging with us, or you’ve been a member here for years, I’m so excited and thankful for your support and I look forward to the conversations that will enfold in this exciting year ahead of us. Thank you.