Threads Of Memory arrives in New Orleans

[Art]

Thanks to Ron González and Dan Blanco for sending this announcement to us.

For more than 300 years, Spanish explorers navigated, charted and settled much of the continent of North America and its waterways. These early colonists left an indelible imprint across the southern United States, their heritage embedded in the histories of our lands, rivers, bays and gulfs. This summer, a traveling exhibition coming to the Gulf Coast examines the centuries-old ties between the two countries ties dating to the early 16th century, stretching through the charting of the Mississippi and the settlement of the West, and remaining vibrant today.

The Threads of Memory:Spain and the United States (El Hilo de la Memoria: España y los Estados Unidos) marks the U.S. debut of nearly 140 rare documents, maps, illustrations and paintings, many of which have never been displayed outside of Spain. The exhibition opens May 11 at The Historic New Orleans Collection, the final stop on a limited, three-city American tour. The Threads of Memory will be on view through July 10.

The survival of these extraordinary materials, selected from the Archive de Indias in Seville, is a testament to Spain's pride in its role in the formation of the United States. The exhibition offers an opportunity to celebrate a common but often overlooked heritage.

The Threads of Memory is divided into 10 sections, each exploring a different aspect of Spanish colonial history, such as early exploration in Florida, the Spanish administration of Louisiana and Spain's role in the American Revolution.

“While Louisiana is frequently identified with France, the importance of Spain to the development of Louisiana and the Gulf South is more critical than what immediately meets the eye,” said Alfred E. Lemmon, director of the Williams Research Center at THNOC.

“When horrible fires destroyed New Orleans in 1788 and 1794, Spanish officials enacted far more stringent building codes, which protected many of the buildings you see today. They even helped protect the French language by issuing proclamations in French and in Spanish, publishing a French newspaper and encouraging the immigration of French St. Dominguan and Acadian refugees.”

New Orleans is the final city on the exhibitions American tour. Prior to the display here, The Threads of Memory was on view at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe and the El Paso Museum of History in Texas. Following its Gulf South visit, all materials will return to the Spanish archives.

“New Orleans is a key point in this exhibition, a perfect city for its closure,” said curator Falia González Díaz. “And there could be no better place in New Orleans to present the exhibition than The collection's building on Royal Street, which is a Spanish colonial home.”

The exhibition is presented in English and in Spanish, with an accompanying full-color, bilingual catalogue detailing all of the documents on display and featuring essays on Spanish missions in the New World, Louisiana under Spanish rule and Spain's role in the emergence of the United States.

The Threads of Memory:Spain and the United States
(El Hilo de la Memoria: España y los Estados Unidos)
May 11 - July 10, 2011
The Historic New Orleans Collection
533 Royal Street
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m