Do You Know My Name? is a virtual and in-house exhibit (2021-2022) that tells the stories of the people who have lived in the region we now recognize as Santa Cruz County. The exhibit encourages everyone to continue telling their stories and to listen to the story's of others. The exhibit does not focus on famous or wealthy people. It is more about the everyday folks who have lived here. All of their stories are remarkable.
Ranging in historical reach, the exhibit listens back to Indigenous voices from the founding of the Mission Santa Cruz while extending into the present to learn from Santa Cruzans now. It also features the stories of folks who have lived in the different geographies and communities of Santa Cruz County. Female Californio land grantees of Soquel, nineteenth-century red wood lumberers in Ben Lomond, Mexican labor activists of Watsonville, Filipina businesswomen, arboreal sculptors, teachers, first generation college students, surfers, Latinx community organizers, writers, college student's, all witnesses to and part of Santa Cruz history populate the stories shared in the exhibit. The exhibit is rich with their traces, images, interviews, and words.
This exhibit at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) is made possible through the Summer Public Humanities Fellowship at The Humanities Institute at the University of California Santa Cruz. Marla Novo, the MAH's Exhibition Curator, has mentored me throughout this fellowship. I am grateful to her kindness and insight. A community of local historians, archivists, and families have also offered their expertise and guidance. The MAH's creative team deserve all credit for transforming my research into a beautiful and accessible site. Finally, the exhibit is dedicated to the memory and work of Phil Reader. Reader was a local historian, beloved by his colleague's. Reader sought to tell the stories of the people who lived in Santa Cruz County but were not represented in historical narratives or not represented fairly. The exhibit shares his story and draws from his research.