Journeys and Destinies: Settling the Southwest

FAIN: GE-50378-11

Arizona Board of Regents (Tucson, AZ 85721-0073)
E. Charles Adams (Project Director: August 2010 to June 2013)

Planning for a new long-term installation that would encapsulate the 13,000-year-old history of human habitation in Arizona, using the idea of migration as a main theme and connecting that history to contemporary native cultures.

Arizona State Museum seeks a Planning Grant to develop a new permanent exhibition that will enable visitors to become immersed in the 13,000-year history of population movement and settlement in the Southwest, centering on Arizona. With a primary focus on indigenous groups of the region and drawing upon new archaeological and ethnological research as well as new approaches to design and visitor experiences, we will tell a story we are uniquely qualified to tell as the largest anthropology museum in the Southwest with established ties to the Native peoples of our state. Funding is sought for three areas: 1) for Native American consultants and humanities scholars to contribute to the theoretical and narrative elements of the exhibit; 2) for audience research and exhibit engagement/participatory design consultants to determine the most appropriate content delivery approaches; and 3) for a draftsperson to provide design and layout renderings to be used in further planning and fundraising.