Eavesdropping at the Well

Abstract

Tracing the history of northern slavery in a narrative exhibition at the New-York Historical Society required overcoming the silence of archival and museum collections. Despite the centrality of slavery to the colonial city, the first two centuries of black lives left few traces. In the archival record, African voices were unheard and never registered. A careful deployment of interpretive media—display techniques, audio-visual programs, graphic annotations, commissioned art objects, and architectural design—aimed to bring visitors physically and emotionally ever closer to the experience of New York blacks, while staying rooted in primary sources. The sequence of media elements thus itself paralleled the historical narrative.