Pop-up exhibits are small mini-exhibits that are curated by Graduate Assistants at Special Collections. Each student gets 1-2 months of exhibit time and we are encouraged to create the exhibit based on absolutely anything we are interested in. Those who know me know that I love anything related to animals and livestock so it should be no surprise that my pop-up exhibit this semester is dedicated to “Arizona Livestock” — and I think this may be one of my best exhibits yet! Also of note: we normally are asked to curate one exhibit case… but I saw four empty cases and therefore all four cases are now covered with Livestock memorabilia!
Below are some images of the four exhibit cases that are set up in the Special Collections reading room. The plusses: I made four cases dedicated to something I love! The negatives: Due to Covid-19, we are currently only open “by appointment” so not as many people will be able to view these cases as I’d like. Not to worry, my plan is to scan everything individually when I take the exhibits down in mid-October so that I can put up a quick ‘online digital exhibit’ of what I curated!
Why livestock? Feeding and providing for Arizona starts with its farmers, ranchers, and producers. Raising animals for production values has been engrained into human cultures across space and time and Arizona is no exception. We have a thriving cattle, dairy, swine, sheep, goat, and poultry industry that makes a huge economic impact on the state ($23.3. billion, actually). There are farmers working at high industry levels (Shamrock Farms, Hickman’s eggs, etc.) as well as plenty of smaller at-home or backyard farmers and ranchers that are producing at a smaller scale (nest run egg farms, 4-H individuals that raise a handful of market animals per year, etc.).
According to the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) there are 18,475 Indigenous farmers and ranchers operating in Arizona, making up 57% of the agricultural operations in the state and residing on 20.6 million acres. This makes up for $86.7 million of direct agricultural sales in the state per year! Below are some early examples of ‘sheep contracts’ and a record book of ranching expenses/purchases.
I am biased, and love animals that help ‘produce’ something. When it comes to dairy products, I am lactose intolerant but I have a deep appreciation for dairy cattle. I also love supporting local farmers, ranchers, etc., and Shamrock Farms is a great example of local business that provides a great product. Almost everyone in Arizona knows of Shamrock Farms, and below is an early photograph of one of their dairy cows with her calf — who is quite proud of her mother’s profession.
I’m also very dedicated to supporting 4-H and other youth organizations. Thus, this exhibit showcases plenty of photographs from early Pima County Fairs, as photographed by renowned photographer Jack Sheaffer. I’m very grateful to be able to explore the process of creating an exhibit from scratch, as this will likely be something I will need to do as a future archivist. Designing these small pop-up exhibits allows a student to think about what they want to exhibit, gives hands-on skills regarding how to search your institution’s materials to see if you have enough to ‘create’ the exhibit, and really lets you practice the creative process (which includes selecting things, moving things around, playing with design elements like height/spacing/placing, remove things you decide against, think about adding something that was a back-up option, etc.). In short, I hope you appreciate this pop-up exhibit because I genuinely loved every moment of creating it for your viewing pleasure!
Archivist Apprenticeship 