Applications for the new Elizabeth I traveling exhibit available
Contact: Laura Hayes
312-280-5055
For Immediate Release
November 2002
Applications for the new Elizabeth I traveling exhibit available
The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office is now accepting grant applications from libraries wishing to host the traveling panel exhibition,
Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend. This new exhibit commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England and encourages audiences not only to reacquaint themselves with the Queen, but also become more familiar with the historical and cultural forces that shaped her personality and her time, and examine the mixture of history and legend that continues to surround her today. The traveling exhibition is based on a major exhibition of the same title, which will open at the Newberry Library of Chicago on September 30, 2003.
Two copies of the exhibit will travel to 40 libraries around the country between October 2003 and March 2006. Each copy consists of six colorful, freestanding photo panels incorporating representations of artifacts from the Newberry's exhibition and new text written for the exhibition by the curator, Clark Hulse, professor of English and art history at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The sections of the traveling exhibition investigate Elizabeth's life and career as a head of state, reveal the political workings of her court, examine the cultural and diplomatic worlds of England and Europe in the late 16th century, and explore the legacy of Queen Elizabeth from the time of her death to today. Artifacts included in the Newberry's exhibition and represented in the traveling exhibition include rare books, prints and manuscripts from the Newberry's own collection, and rarely seen materials on loan from London's British Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library of Washington, D.C., the University of Kansas, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and private collections.
The Newberry Library also will host an extensive Elizabeth I Web site that can be used by tour libraries to expand the thematic areas of the exhibition with supplementary information, links, and activities, as well as interactive browsing features, bibliographic resources, and enhanced views of the exhibition artifacts. The Web site will be active in October 2003 and will remain available for the duration of the traveling exhibition tour.
Libraries of all types interested in hosting the exhibition can download the application and guidelines at
http://www.ala.org/publicprograms/elizabeth/ or request a copy by sending an e-mail message to
publicprograms@ala.org.
Applications must be received by December 20, 2002.
Libraries selected for the tour will host the exhibition for a six-week period. Participating libraries are expected to present at least one program for library patrons and community members featuring a lecture or discussion by a scholar on exhibition themes. All showings of the exhibition will be free and open to the public. Additionally, one staff member from each library hosting the tour will attend an orientation seminar at the Newberry Library on September 24 and 25, 2003.
Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend is organized by the ALA Public Programs Office and the Newberry Library with major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The ALA Public Programs Office fosters cultural programming by libraries of all types. Established in 1990, the office helps thousands of libraries nationwide develop and host programs that encourage dialogue among community members and works to establish libraries as cultural centers in their communities.
For more information about Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend, please visit
www.ala.org/publicprograms/elizabeth.
