Gateways/Portales Exhibition Records

The records of the Gateways/Portales exhibition presented by the Anacostia Community Museum and curated by Ariana A. Curtis measure 2.84 linear feet and date from 1954 to 2017. A winner of the Smithsonian Excellence in Exhibitions Award; the bilingual exhibit presented in English and Spanish incorporated the gender-neutral term "Latinx"; and the metaphor "Gateways/Portales," used for Latinx points of access into community life in America. Focusing on four urban areas in the United States: Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD, Raleigh-Durham, NC, and Charlotte, NC., the materials include research files, subject files, scholarly articles, artist files, exhibit texts, object lists, and audio and video digital files from interviews conducted in conjunction with the exhibition. Research files contain articles on a broad range of topics including museums and social justice, population growth, immigration policy, Latinos in the south, social justice and civil rights, Dominican salons, and festivals. There are also articles and biographies of Latinx artists featured in the exhibition. Exhibit files include project proposal, exhibit scripts, object list, media coverage, and exhibition brochures. Additionally, there are tokens of visitor engagement including responses to questions on an interactive board and materials deposited on an altar in the exhibition. Oral histories were conducted by curator Ariana A. Curtis and her assistant Elena Muñoz in conjunction with the exhibition. The records contain both audio and video recordings of community members, artists, activists, educators, and the producer of 'Linea Directa,' Washington, D.C.'s first Spanish language local news program. Also present is a text copy of oral histories from the Latino Migration Project, UNC Chapel Hill.