Springsteen: His Hometown
The exhibit “Springsteen: His Hometown” opened to much fanfare at the Monmouth County Historical Association (MCHA) at 70 Court Street in Freehold in September 2019. Co-curated by Melissa Kozlowski, then professor in the Department of History and Anthropology, now curator at the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, and MCHA Director of Collections Bernadette Rogoff, with support from Eileen Chapman and Bob Santelli of the Springsteen Center, the exhibit started as a class project in Kozlowski’s fall 2018 museums and archives class. It features more than 150 items from the Center and guitars, clothing, jewelry, and other items from Springsteen himself, who joined the curators and guests at the exhibit preview party on Saturday, Sept. 28. The exhibit was on view at MCHA beginning in September 2019. It received local and national news coverage, for example:
-
- New York Post: Bruce Springsteen exhibit to open in his New Jersey hometown
- Rolling Stone Magazine: See Bruce Springsteen’s Surprise ‘Light of Day’ at Exhibit Opening Gala
- Billboard: Bruce Springsteen ‘His Hometown’ Exhibit Will Showcase 150 Rare Items
- Variety: Bruce Springsteen Exhibit Draws the Boss Himself for Surprise Performance (Watch)
Tracking Sandy: Monmouth County Remembers
In 2012, Superstorm Sandy swept ashore and disrupted the lives of countless residents along the east coast. In 2016, the Department began to collaborate with the Monmouth County Historical Association (MCHA) to create an exhibition marking the fifth anniversary of the Storm. Over the course of a year, the exhibit team partnered with libraries, churches, community centers, local government, and the general public in a crowdsourcing initiative to compile the story. Melissa Kozlowski, then professor in the Department of History and Anthropology, now curator at the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, who served as MCHA’s guest curator for the project, noted at the time, “This is a unique opportunity to allow the citizens of Monmouth County to create their own living archive of what some have called a ‘100 year storm’.” MCHA President Linda Bricker concurred, saying, “Sandy should not be forgotten after altering the lives of so many people and communities in such a dramatic way. It is a story that will be of great interest to future generations and which should be documented while those impacted can relate personal experiences.” Several Monmouth University students assisted Kozlowski in the preparation of the exhibit.
The exhibition was open at the MCHA headquarters in Freehold from October 2017- October 2018.
Photos:
