Smithsonian Exhibition on Democracy Coming to Six Massachusetts Towns
“Voices and Votes” will spark conversations in rural communities.
The Smithsonian is returning to small towns in Massachusetts beginning April 2025.
Through a collaborative partnership with the world’s largest museum complex, Mass Humanities is providing funding to six local organizations to host “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America,” a traveling exhibition produced by the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program. “Voices and Votes” will visit the towns of Shelburne Falls, Lee, Ashby, Douglas, Holbrook, and East Sandwich.
Each of the following institutions will host the exhibition for six weeks over the course of the tour:
- Mohawk Trail Regional School: 4/19/2025 – 5/31/2025
- Town of Lee: 6/7/2025-7/19/2025
- Ashby Free Public Library: 7/26/2025 – 9/6/2025
- Douglas Historical Society: 9/13/2025 – 10/25/2025
- Holbrook Public Library: 11/1/2025 – 12/13/2025
- Nye Museum: 12/20/2025 – 2/1/2026
Launched in 1994, Museum on Main Street (MoMS) is a Smithsonian outreach program that engages small town audiences and brings revitalized attention to underserved rural communities. The program partners with state humanities councils like Mass Humanities to bring traveling exhibitions, educational resources and programming to small towns across America through their own local museums, historical societies and other cultural venues.
“Voices and Votes” explores the action and reaction, vision and revision, that democracy demands as Americans continue to question how to shape the country. Exhibition sections explore the origins of American democracy; the struggles to obtain and keep the vote; the machinery of democracy; the right to petition and protest beyond the ballot; and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Rather than focusing on politics, “Voices and Votes” prompts viewers to think about four key questions:
- Who gets to participate in democracy?
- How do you get people to participate in democracy?
- Is there a way for citizens to participate beyond the ballot?
- What are the basic rights and responsibilities of citizens?
The exhibition features historical and contemporary photos; educational and archival video; engaging multimedia interactives with short games; and historical objects like campaign souvenirs, voter memorabilia, and protest material.
“It is an honor to partner with these communities to bring the Smithsonian to Massachusetts,” said Mass Humanities Executive Director Brian Boyles. “At this critical time for our democracy, we believe that libraries and museums in our small town are vital to the future of the commonwealth. We look forward to the events and conversations hosted by our partners.”
Each host site receives extensive training from the staff of the Smithsonian along with a $10,000 grant from Mass Humanities to develop public events during the exhibition. Organizations located in towns with populations of 12,000 or less were eligible to apply. Mass Humanities receives major support from Mass Cultural Council (MCC), the state agency for arts and the humanities.
In 2022-2023, Mass Humanities partnered with the Smithsonian to bring “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” to Athol, Essex, Hull, Rutland, Sheffield, and Turners Falls. This MoMS exhibition brought more than 23,000 visitors to the six host sites, 57% of whom were first time visitors. Public programs for “Crossroads” ranged from community conversations to scavenger hunts and film screenings.
Mass Humanities supports grant recipients by facilitating regular capacity building workshops. Topics range from how to run a community conversation program, best practices for publicity and outreach, and how to transport the exhibit from one site to another safely. Communities also have access to a resident tour scholar, who contributes insights and guidance related to the exhibit theme. The tour scholar for “Voices and Votes” is Amel Ahmed, associate professor of political science at UMass Amherst.
For further information, contact Wes DeShano, communications manager, at wdeshano@masshumanities.org.
Photo caption: (Left) Women’s suffrage movement, 1917. Picketers march from the National Women’s Party headquarters to their posts in front of the White House. Courtesy of National Museum of American History. (Right) Illustration titled “The First Vote” by Alfred R. Waud, appearing in an 1867 issue of Harper’s Weekly. Courtesy of Library of Congress.
