Leslie Peltz, Silos of Washington County Photographs

September 27, 2018 – May, 2019
Opening Reception, Thursday September 27, 2018 6-8 pm

Washington County Museum
Portland Community College Rock Creek Campus
17677 NW Springville Rd. Portland, OR 97229
503-645-5353
Open Wednesday through Saturday 10 am-3 pm

Molly Alloy, Community Engagement Coordinator and Guest Curator
molly@washingtoncountymuseum.org
http://www.washingtoncountymuseum.org

Photographs by Leslie Peltz of silos used for grain, seed and silage storage in Washington County are part of the new exhibit, AgriCulture: Shaping Land and Lives in the Tualatin Valley. Her pensive black and white images invite the viewer into quiet moments she has encountered in her outings across Washington County to document silos with a Holga camera.

Visitors to this dynamic, colorful exhibit will be able to touch, hear, see and learn about agriculture and the many ways it impacts our communities. Since time immemorial people in the Tualatin Valley have used their labor and technology to maximize the amount of nourishing food and valuable plant products that grow in this fertile area. Those efforts have re-formed human habits and social structures as well as the physical landscape. This interactive exhibit centers on eight oral histories drawn from the museum’s archive housed within Pacific University’s digital exhibits. These individuals, some historic and some contemporary, speak to the field of agriculture through their personal experiences and the experiences of their families and ancestors. Together they become a dialogue across time, culture and technology that highlights many facets of agriculture’s impact on us all.

Along with photography, video, illustration, and an interactive drawing station, historic objects from the museum’s collection will be featured throughout the exhibit so that visitors can experience first-hand some of the tools that have helped shape the land around them.