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s the beat goes on in America, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. has chronicled the progress of American music through the years in a portable seven-kiosk interactive exhibition, “New Harmonies.” The exhibit will debut in Hattiesburg on April 16 for a five-week run at Hattiesburg’s Historic Depot. New Harmonies is an interactive exhibit portraying the ongoing cultural process that has made America the birthplace of more music than any place on earth. The story is full of surprises about familiar songs, histories of instruments, the roles of religion and technology, and the continuity of musical roots from Native American chanting and drumming to the latest hip hip-hop CD. “The Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Assoc. (HHDA) is pleased to present such an outstanding exhibition which provides a fascinating, inspiring and toe-tapping listen to the American story of multi-cultural exchange in music,” Betsy Rowell, executive director of the HHDA, said. Hattiesburg is the first of six Mississippi cities to
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host the exhibit through January 2012. Other Mississippi cities are Long Beach, Pearl, Amory, Columbus and Hernando. “New Harmonies” is part of the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street (MOMS) program. MOMS serves small-to-medium sized communities by bringing Smithsonian-quality exhibitions to local museums, historical societies, libraries and community centers that traditionally have limited access to traveling exhibition due to space and cost limitations. Each exhibition consists of free standing structures that contain interactive components and artifacts. According to Kristie Fairley, deputy director of VISITHATTIESBURG, transient exhibits not only create a reason to visit Hattiesburg, but once visitors are here, these exhibits help give cultural depth to the overall experience and impression visitors have of Hattiesburg. “Hosting these exhibits in the Historic Depot also gives us a great opportunity to show off one of Hattiesburg's most beautiful architectural gems, VISITHATTIESBURG is thrilled to partner
with HHDA in hosting New Harmonies in Downtown Hattiesburg,” Fairley said. The exhibition provides a full education component. Music faculty throughout the Hattiesburg area are urged to bring their classes to tour the exhibit. Additionally, the exhibit provides lesson plans and activities for grades 4-8 and 9 -12. The exhibit will be open Wednesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. There is no charge to visit the exhibition. Groups planning to visit the exhibition should contact HHDA at rowell@megagate.com or call 601-583-4329 to schedule their visit. “New Harmonies” is brought to Mississippi by The Mississippi Humanities Council. The exhibit is presented in Hattiesburg by, The Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association, VisitHattiesburg, Hattiesburg Arts Council, and City of Hattiesburg, in partnership with Southern Miss, William Carey University and the Hattiesburg Public Library.