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Lecture Series I: September 13, 20, 27
Captive Accommodations: Explorations of Extant Urban and Suburban Slave Quarters

September 20, 2021 Why Historic Houses Matter by Tessa Jagger, Executive Director at the Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses

Photo Credit: Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses

With declining visitation being a very real existential threat for historic house museums, one must ask why they matter. There are obvious aspects to some such as famous prior residents or the sheer beauty of the architecture.  However, for most the reason is because they provide a portal into our past that encourages discourse around our collective and often difficult history.  In this lecture we’ll look at the impact of systemic racism in America and how historic houses can be entry points for the public in understanding how we got here.

Tessa Jagger is the Executive Director of the Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses in New Orleans.  Prior to holding this position she was at the National WWII Museum where she produced content that ‘left the museum walls’ including its first podcast and the Suncoast Emmy Award winning documentary Seize & Secure: The Battle for La Fière, narrated by Mark Harmon. Ms. Jagger spent a decade working for Discovery Communications (Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, etc.) where she fine tuned her skills in the burgeoning digital arena. With then subsidiary Antenna International she worked on award-winning audio and multimedia guides for museums, including numerous AAMs MUSE Awards for Audio and Visual Tours (Berlin WallGuide, National Gallery of London, etc.) and a Jodi Award for best Digital Access Onsite (Imperial War Museum). She is passionate about unearthing the stories that engage and connect visitors to history.

Joe’s at the Jepson menu:

BBQ Pork

Corn on the Cobb

Baked Beans

Corn Bread

OR

Plant Based Sausage Beans and Rice

Corn Bread

Corn Salad

 

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