April 17, 2023
 
PA MUSEUMS AWARDS
 
Two Pennsylvania organizations experimenting with new ways to encourage people to learn more about the unfamiliar histories they preserve are among those that have received recognition as recipients of PA Museums 2023 Institutional Awards of Merit.

Our first awardee is the Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust, which launched a mini-capital campaign and a proto-typing project that resulted in the installation of a new set of outdoor exhibits on the grounds of the Arch Street Meeting House in Old City Philadelphia. Designed to answer basic visitor questions about the use and purpose of the building and introduce the story of Quakerism and its social justice impact to the public, the new exhibits encourage greater access to the meeting house and its story as a crucial part of Philadelphia’s and the nation’s heritage.

Spurred by an awareness that people visiting Old City Philadelphia were not well-informed about the meeting house and often simply walked right by without noticing it, the Arch Street Preservation Trust worked with a consultant through the University of the Arts to test the content and location of the series of proposed new signage. Overcoming pandemic production challenges to get the exhibits installed, the group has been excited by the results, identifying them as the most significant improvement to the property in years. Arch Street staff note that adding labeling on the grounds has been “wildly successful in increasing visitation, informing the public, and advancing our mission.” Visitors now enter the meeting house with a better understanding of its basic purpose and can ask more nuanced questions about the building and the impact of Quakerism.
Our second awardee is the Beaver Area Heritage Foundation, which took on the challenge of re-engaging their community and volunteer base after all the pandemic shutdowns by offering a new exhibit that explored the story of a once-famous local political figure in an inventive way. “Senator Matthew Stanley Quay: Saint or Sinner?” used the Beaver Heritage Foundation’s small display space to their advantage by creating a unique double-sided exhibit experience that presented the positive and negative aspects of Senator Matthew Stanley Quay’s career, then asked visitors to vote. Did 19th-century political power broker’s achievements and contributions outweigh his transgressions, or was it the other way around?

The Matthew Stanley Quay project illustrates the Beaver Area Heritage Foundation’s commitment to helping their community recognize that “meaningful, substantive history is right in our own backyard.” The project also demonstrated the group’s collaborative relationships with other local organizations, including the Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation, the First Presbyterian Church of Beaver, and members of the Quay family, all of whom contributed to the project.

Beaver’s Matthew Quay project was also notable for documentary film produced in conjunction with the research done for the exhibit. Segments from a detailed video interview conducted with 100-year-old Quay Scholar Dr. James A Kehl months before he passed away were transformed into a professionally produced film exploring Senator Quay and his legacy. While Dr. Kehl did not live to see the final film, the finished documentary will now serve as an educational outreach tool, preserving Dr. Kehl’s scholarship for future generations.
CONFERENCE REMINDER
Registration for our annual statewide museum conference is open!