SONOMA CONFIDENTIAL: Stories from the Archives
March 12 - July 10, 2005
20th Anniversary Sonoma Stories Exhibition
Co-curated by Gaye & John LeBaron
The Sonoma County Museum celebrates its 20th Anniversary with Sonoma Confidential, an exhibition investigating the Museum’s permanent collection of photographs and oral histories, along with selected art and artifacts. At its heart, Sonoma County is a place of stories. Many are familiar, having been told before in one form or another, contributing to a common understanding of ‘place.’ Yet some,represented here by objects and images never before exhibited, have remained "confidential," hidden away in attics and archives.
Suggested by the collection itself, the stories are eclectic, emerging fro ma single object or a grouping of photographs, revealing slices of life an dan eccentric mix of memories’ unfolding like the pages of a private scrapbook or family album. Each story unveils a unique layer of our collective identity. Individual objects and images come alive with meaning when seen together as part of a larger web.
In this exhibition the Museum continues its role in keeping vital the tales of Sonoma County. Stories are the county’s life-blood, even the smallest contains a larger truth, connecting regional life to broader historical and cultural currents.
This Sonoma Stories exhibition is organized by: Gaye LeBaron, John LeBaron, Eric Stanley and Roberta Harlan.
Presenting Media Sponsor: The Press Democrat
We gratefully acknowledge Natasha Boas, Sue Doherty, Brad Girod, Alexandra Quinn, Will Spires, and the authors of Santa Rosa:A Nineteenth Century Town and Twentieth Century Town, whose work provided a basis for many of the stories presented here.
Additional gratitude to Petaluma Museum, Healdsburg Museum, Hugh Codding, Joel Hack of Bodega Bay Navigator, Harry Lapham,Harry Lewis, Gaye and John LeBaron, Claus Neumann, Lee Torliatt, The Press Democrat, and the Sonoma County Library for loaned objects and photos.
The exhibition is funded in part by Exchange Bank, Clover Stornetta Farms, Knight/Wagner Architecture, Frank Howard Allen Realtors, Lanahan & Reilley LLP, Oral History Project Fund Community Foundation Sonoma County and the Members of Sonoma County Museum.
