Hey, y'all. Libba here. Welcome back to, then again, a podcast by the Northeast Georgia History center at Brenau University. Today we're speaking to Kristen Hudson, director of marketing and public relations of the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia, and Rebecca Bush, the curator of history and exhibitions manager at the Columbus Museum. And this is kind of a special topic for me because I actually lived in Columbus for a number of years. I'm an alumna of Columbus State University, and Columbus was also the location of my very first museum job. And today we're going to dive in because there's some really exciting renovations and new exhibits and a lot to talk about with Rebecca and Kristen. Y'all, thanks so much for coming on.

To, then again, thank you for having us.

Yeah, thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

Absolutely. And it was so fun to learn about the renovation because when I learned about it, I was like, wow. I mean, I was really impressed when I went there as a student in college, but I'm really excited to see, to hear about what's new at the museum, especially because it's such a great combination of a lot of fascinating art and modern art, but also a great way to get to know that region's history. And being that I lived in Columbus for a while, I worked at the National Civil War Naval Museum as my very first museum job. Really what launched me into museums, you know, it's just great to see that it's growing. And I'm super excited to hear about the renovations and new exhibits y'all have and plans for the future. But I'm kind of curious. I'd love to start off by just hearing y'all's story about how you guys got into the museum world. And, you know, for me, I was working at the coffee shop in Columbus, and one of the regulars was an executive director of the museum at the Civil War Museum and started as a volunteer, went to visitors services, magicably, magically became director of communications. And it was just this really cool whirlwind experience of entering a field that I never expected as a theater major. But there's so, so many crossovers. So I was really happy that it kind of found me. But, Kristen, let's start with you. How did you get into the museum world? And how long have you been at the Columbus museum?

Yeah, so I kind of came about this role in an interesting way. So I am the director of marketing and public relations. As you said, I'm just finishing up my third here at the museum. So, of course, I started at the Columbus museum coming out of the pandemic. So it was very interesting coming in, you know, with our mask mandates. Visitation was slowly returning and then to go into a renovation after that. It's been an interesting several years, but coming into the museum world, I actually have an undergraduate and a graduate degree in music, a music performance. So interesting that you come from a theater background. I came from a music background and found my way working in communications as well for the Columbus.

Oh, cool.

I was there for about five and a half years and then made my way over to the museum from there. And it's like I said, it's been a whirlwind ever since, but such an incredible time. And it couldn't have been a better time with everything that is so exciting going on at the museum right now.

Yeah. And I've got to say, I mean, I remember seeing the Columbus symphony as well, so it's such a great community for arts and culture. And of course, the Columbus museum is such a huge part of that that's really exciting to join, going from the symphony to something broader that, so it connects with everything, art and history. So that's awesome. Kristen, thanks. And Rebecca, so I know that you've been at the Columbus museum for quite some time now, but talk to us about what. Were you always a history nerd at heart and then found your way into museums? What was your entry into the museum world?

Yes. So I'm the weirdo on the recording today because I graduated high school knowing that I wanted to do something with history. At first I thought that might be some kind of teaching. About halfway through my undergraduate years, I was able to do an internship in an archives that was connected to a museum at Fort Riley. Actually, that was my first history related job. And by the time I graduated, I knew I was interested in continuing, interested in continuing in the museum world. So I went to graduate school, earned a master's in public history. I spent about a year working at historic Columbia in South Carolina, which has a really broad, wide ranging historic preservation mission, but part of that is several historic house museums. So I helped some with collections and also with communications for a few months, and then I was hired here at the Columbus museum. So I started right after Thanksgiving of 2011, and I'm still here. So I am working on year 13 right now.

Wow. That's fantastic. And it's also cool because you can really see how much has changed, especially in all the updates that have happened. I'm sure it's years and years of, of work and ideas and planning coming to fruition, which is super exciting. So that's awesome. And, you know, I want to go into those changes and those renovations. But for our listeners that may not be familiar with Columbus in general, Columbus, Georgia, we're talking about, maybe if you could give us an overview, you know, just, just a simple 1 minute overview of the entire history of Columbus would be fine. But, Rebecca, if you could just give us some highlights of, because I know that, you know, it was a very, an industrial center in the 18 hundreds. I mean, it's right on the Chattahoochee river. It's right at that dividing line between Alabama and Georgia. But could you give our listeners who might not be familiar with that region an overview of what was really important historically in Columbus and what folks might want to learn more about, especially when they come to the Columbus museum?

Absolutely. So Columbus was founded in 1828. We are on the Chattahoochee river, forming the border between Georgia and Alabama. As you said, we are situated on the historic homelands of the Muscogee Creek Nation. And during that time, this region was really a major population center because part of the river and overland routes. So this region has always been set up to carry importance in trade and commerce and industry. So when Columbus is founded, and particularly after the civil war, the main industry becomes textile production. There were really about two dozen textile mills or different kind of mills that ran on the hydropower of the river. We are a fall line city, just like Macon or Augusta in the state, and that has really drove the economy until the late 20th century. And as you see all over the US, a lot of those manufacturing jobs leaving the country in Columbus, what kind of springs up as a major employer to fill that gap is financial services. So we are the hometown global headquarters of Aflac. We were founded here, and the global headquarters is just down the street from the museum. We are also home to a major southeastern bank called Cenovus and a major credit card processing center. So those are big drivers of our economy right now. And the other piece of the Columbus puzzle is the army. So in 1918, there was an army post founded here at the time called Camp Benning, and during World War two, the importance and population of that post just exploded. So we are the home of the infantry. We are. We offer training schools for rangers, airborne, all kinds of folks. So now called Fort Moore. The army and the soldiers and their families who come here either to train or to teach are also a huge part of our region.

Yeah. And I know that, I recall, you know, when I was in college, you know, like, ten years ago, it was a lot of development for, like, on the river, for, like, whitewater rafting and, like, zip lining. And so it's really times that I visited Columbus. I've been so happy to see that it's really grown a lot, that downtown has developed well. It seems to be a really thriving community for folks to visit, and so much history as you spoke to, and there's so much to dive into with Columbus's history and the music scene there, the arts scene there. And so, I mean, the Columbus museum seems like a great first stop for anyone that is going to be interested in learning more about the region, whether you're a tourist there, visiting maybe your college students at Columbus State or otherwise. And so it'd be a great place for y'all for anyone to get a kind of a bird's eye view of all the culture and history of Columbus.

I always tell people that we have two primary audiences, and the first audience is people who live here, and in many cases, their parents grew up here, their grandparents grew up here. They've been here for generations. They are deeply steeped in knowledge of Columbus in the Chattahoochee Valley. And then our second major audience are people who come here for Fort Moore or for CSU or some other kind of educational endeavor. And they may have never been here before. And especially in the case of families coming to see their soldier graduate, they may never be back here again after the weekend. They're here. So we have folks who have a lot of firsthand knowledge of what the city is now, and folks who are coming into the, coming into see us with wide open eyes, not sure what to expect. So it's really interesting, but really rewarding to balance that and keep those two perspectives in mind.

Yeah. And tell me a little bit about the timeline of the Columbus museum itself. When did the Columbus museum come about? And if you could tell us anything about the context of how it formed.

So the Columbus museum officially opened on March 29, 1953.

Wow.

There had been discussion in Columbus of starting an art museum since the twenties, got stymied during the depression, then again during World War two. And then there was a gift of land made by the estate of WC Bradley, who was a major businessman and philanthropist here in town, and that finally provided a place for a brand new library to be built. And then eventually the Bradley home became the Columbus museum. So that space served as the museum until 1989. There were a couple of small additions over the years. In 1989, there is a major renovation, which increases the square footage of the museum to 89,000. That was the last time we'd done a major renovation until this last project, which didn't expand the footprint, but it let us use the space that we have in a better way. So we didn't gain square footage, but we gained linear footage because of the ways the architects were able to work within the space and find spaces that could be better utilized. The other thing that's important to know is the museum has always had, from its very, very beginning, focus on art and american arts and regional art and the history of our region. There have been some other focuses of different types of art or natural history that have come and gone over the years, but the two pronged focus that we have now of american art and regional history have been there for the past 71 years.

Wow. That's such a long trajectory for a museum as well, especially one that focuses on regional history. And it's great. I love the combination of american art and regional history because I'm sure there's so many connections that can be made through the art itself to the history that y'all have in the exhibits as well. And I'm curious, with these renovations, can you describe the most significant additions or changes that have happened, and how does that reflect the museum's mission and vision?

So it's interesting. There have been some very major changes to the building where we've had longtime visitors walk in and go, wow, I feel like I've been transported to a different metropolitan area. I mean, it's been quite significant. One of the first things is obviously our new and reimagined history galleries. Before, it was a singular history gallery, and now we have three galleries are able to really tell the stories. Oh, yes. Technically, four. Thank you, Rebecca. If we include our introductory gallery, there are four spaces that tell the stories of the people of this region. And then we have our reimagined art galleries, which are now done in a thematic setting rather than chronologically like they were done before, opening us up to have new and interesting combinations, sparking different reactions, I think, with a variety of works being combined together in our galleries, we also have a brand new children's gallery and garden that has been relocated. Our old children's gallery was down in the basement, really, of the building, and harder to find. And education is a big part of our focus and our mission. And so bringing that up to the main level and near the main entrance of the building has been really important to us and has made a large impact. And then, overall, just a general focus on our visitor experience. The building's much more open. We've got natural sight lines, a brighter space. We have a grab and go cafe. Now we have a seated courtyard, better gathering spaces for our guests. And so really making the community and visitors from afar who come feel welcome from the most moment they stepped foot into the building or even on the campus, really, because we also removed a giant berm that was outside in the front lawn that really sort of hid the building from view of the street. So really just making us more accessible all the way around and more welcoming for our visitors.

Well, that's fantastic. So there's really something for all ages and all interests, really. And I'm curious, just from y'all's point of view, what are some of your, what are the exhibits or the pieces or anything from this new renovation that you're most excited about? Just personally, what are you most excited about for people to see?

So, naturally, since the history collection is my baby, I'm really excited for everyone to come in and experience our four new history galleries. And we have also redone those in a thematic interpretation. I know we'll get into that a little bit later, but again, encouraging people to make connections in new and different ways, just like the art galleries, it's been really exciting to see people of all ages come in and respond to that. So that's been great. One of our signature pieces in the museum that actually previously was located in the history gallery, you might remember it, Liva, was glass boat installation by Dale Chihuly.

Yes.

Was in a beautiful setting. It was a very dark, dramatic space. So we have now gone to the opposite and creating another beautiful setting. It is bathed in sunlight in our main open Galleria space. So it is one of the very first things that visitors will see when they start, when they turn to start exploring the galleries. That boat and the burst of color and rainbows that shine through it, especially when the sun is hitting it in the afternoon, is just really great and glorious to see.

Oh, I love that. It really is a beautiful combination of history and art right there. That's. I love that. That's, that's excellent.

Yeah.

And how about you, Kristen? What are you, what are you most excited about for folks to see from this new renovation?

I think, well, mine is sort of two pronged, and the first of which is because of my daughter. So I have a two year old daughter. We closed for renovation before she was really old enough to enjoy the space. And so having her back in this building and seeing this gem that she's going to be able to grow up with has been so special to me. And I actually haven't even told Rebecca this, but she might be excited to hear it. Not only did she love the children's gallery, of course, but her favorite part of the entire museum was when we walked into the history galleries and she was greeted by Oscar the alligator. She is one of our fan favorite focuses in the museum, and his new place of prominence in the opening of the history gallery is beautiful. We've got alligator sounds. So he, like, says hello to you when you enter. And she, I mean, if she could live in there with him, she would. It was wonderful. So that was her favorite part. And so that is one of mine as well. And then secondarily, I think just the thematic setting of the galleries you walk in, and I've had moments where I've worked in this building for years and we've been around for so long, and I'll still really have my breath sort of taken away just looking at how things have been put together and the creativity of Rebecca and Jonathan as well, our curator of american art, and just how they've been able to put these collection items into such a beautiful narrative. It continues to delight and surprise, and I think it'll be the same way for all of our visitors.

Oh, yeah, I can't wait to visit. And I'm curious to know what this is a fairly new reopening, but I'm curious to know what have people said just already, what kind of feedback have you received from visitors of all ages? And we've already got your, we've got the two year old perspective, but.

Yes, exactly. Well, I will say, you know, it's been really great, the feedback so far. We've gotten a lot of reviews online and survey surveys taken, but the things that we're hearing from people's mouths. One I had mentioned already, they walk in and they think they just stepped foot in either Atlanta or New York or, you know, we've heard these large metro areas. They feel like, whoa, I'm in Columbus, Georgia. Where am I? Just that stepping up of the level that we have inside. But the other thing, too, is just the diversity of our crowds that welcome opening feeling and how everyone from age two to 800 can come in and just completely immerse themselves in the experience and find something to learn and enjoy and take part in. That's something that we really pride ourselves in. It's our new tagline, is all the things. That's what we try to be, is all the things, you know, from our history, our regional history to our american art and then even the gardens outside. We have a wide range of things. And so that's what we've really heard, is just that enjoyment from people of various different backgrounds that have enjoyed their time here and learning something new.

And, Kristen, you might have heard this just walking around like I have, but multiple times I've been in the lobby area or in a gallery section and heard folks look at each other and say, we'll come back. We'll come back and read more of it. It's too much to do in one day. We're going to come back. And actually, the week that we reopened, there was an older woman with her two, I believe, I'm guessing two adult daughters there with her. And they were sitting in the lobby and they said, well, well, we'll come back tomorrow. Okay, so we saw this, this and this today, and we left off here. So tomorrow we're gonna go see this, this and this. And that's exactly the kind of reaction we want folks to have. We want them to keep coming back.

Yes. And especially because there's also so much more, like, interactive parts of the exhibits. I'd love to know more about those. How did, how did you sort of implement more engagement with the visitor experience through interactive parts of it?

So one of the first things that visitors see when they come into the lobby now is they have the opportunity to create their own tour guide for their museum visit, essentially. So there are several dozen cards on racks that feature large images of different objects, artifacts, or pieces of art on view. On the back of the card, there's a little bit of information about that object, and then there's a spot where it tells you roughly where in the building you can go to find it. There's a little checkbox for when you can check off that you've viewed it, and then folks can take that home with them to remember what they saw, share with others. Or we're also encouraging folks to leave their completed guides for other folks to pick up and use and kind of share that experience. So even though it's you're not in the building at the same time, you're still sharing that experience with somebody from a gallery perspective. In both the children's gallery and the history galleries, which are two major points of interactive features at the moment, we had a real concerted focus on creating tactiles to engage folks of all ages, and also both physical, manipulative, put your hands on it interactives, and then also digital interactives with screens, because we know now that folks expect a lot of tech and screens when they visit a museum, just like in any aspect of our lives. But we also know that people like to have the touch, touch, feel. We go to museums because museums feel authentic, right? We want to see the real thing, not just a picture. So we really made an effort to incorporate those. So in the children's gallery, there are, as Kristen said, great activities for adults as well. But from two on up through the grade school years especially, you can work, you can curate a show in your own model museum. It's a great little, small replica of our building. Now there's a tree house you can explore with different shapes and sounds. Everything is drawn from our collection, so there's a really direct connection to what you're doing in the children's gallery. And then if you go see something in the regular gallery, hopefully you start to make that connection, especially as our youngest visitors get older. And then in the history galleries, we have a variety of visual and auditory interactive. So Kristin mentioned that Oscar the alligator is roaring as you come into the space. So we have sounds of a cotton gin that's actually recorded from a historic cotton gin down in Tipton, Georgia. Shout out to Polly in the Georgia Museum of Agriculture that runs by our cotton gin, different historic sounds. We have a weaving station where you can kind of practice weaving to tie into our textile history. And we are one of the homes of famed bridge builder Horace King. There will be an activity where you can actually build a covered bridge using a model of one of his bridges, what that might look like. And then we have several short films, five to seven minutes, and then a couple kind of 60 to 92nd featurettes that include both contemporary interviews and archival voices. So really a great mix. And having everything rooted in the collection, rooted in the mission of what we're doing here just really enhances everything that much more.

That sounds so much fun. And I love that it's so interactive because, you know, that's there. There are history nerds like me that will go to a museum and read the text panels and take way too long and be like, okay, like you said, kristen earlier, I gotta come back for another day. But this interactivity and engagement part, it makes me feel like, you know, someone, especially a young person who might not realize how fascinating history is to get them curious and excited about it in such a fun way. And, you know, to also surprise the folks that maybe they're just, you know, in Columbus. Need to kill some time. Hey, let's go to the museum. And then, boom. Big surprise of how interactive, how fun how fascinating you can make art and history, even for folks who might not realize that they are fascinated by it. And of course, for those who know they are, it's just so impressive to go into a museum and to see how much thought has been put into the curation and all these modern elements, but, but still holding on to those tactile parts that are just fun, really touching the past. So that's so neat. And you mentioned a few notable figures of Columbus's history that they can learn about, which is really neat to get a real personal side of Columbus's history. And it also brings to mind that for students in the community, this is such a wonderful opportunity for them to learn about local history. And I know that y'all have a partnership with the Muskogee County School district, and I was curious to know what that looks like and what kind of educational opportunities that are offered to the local students in Columbus.

So we are one of the few museums in the country that has a formal legal relationship with public k through twelve school districts. We are part of the school district. Our building and our land are technically owned by the school district. Several of us are school district employees. So we have this mixed management model with both our 501 C three nonprofit board and then MCSD. So what that allows us to do in terms of how we get to interact with students locally is it gives us that much closer access in the pipeline to work with teachers, work with administrators, with curriculum experts and say, hey, this is what we have going on. Here's what's coming up. As far as temporary exhibitions that we're going to be doing, here's something in our permanent collection that we'd like to build and experience around school trips. School visits are always one of our major focuses, especially during the school year. But I know we have summer learning experience sort of booked already for this summer. So the k through twelve audience, because of our relationship with the school district, is really always going to be our primary audience. And so that's exciting and important for us to think about in everything that we do, in curation and programming and communications, in every aspect. How are we at a very practical level, meeting Georgia state learning standards so that teachers are getting bang for their buck, so to speak, when they leave the classroom? We know that's harder and harder to do these days, but also, how can we engage students in a new way? You know, not everyone loves to sit in a classroom and be a history nerd like you and me. You're brought into the fold, history nerd. You know, not everyone wants to sit around and read a textbook, but actually getting folks in the space and helping them maybe see something they haven't seen before, think about it in a new way. And how can that give a new perspective on their world and broaden their world? And that's one of the best things we get to do, I think.

Oh, absolutely. I can, I can definitely relate to that. I mean, when those, when we have field trips here at the Northeast Georgia History Center, I mean, it's so exciting, especially when we ask the kids if this is their first time at a history museum and seeing some hands go up. It's always exciting to know that we're going to be that introduction to how cool it is to go to a museum and see these incredible artifacts and learn about your region's history and local history. And you mentioned, you know, some upcoming events, what's going on this summer that folks can look forward to at the Columbus museum?

Go ahead, Rebecca. Nope.

Go ahead. I've been talking enough. You go ahead.

There's so much going on. We have our summer programs, our summer camps starting up in June. So we've got weekly summer camps for a variety of different ages, starting from age four all the way up to age ten. And those are always super fun. They're a week long, each of them. And then we have a lot of free programs for families, like our Tuesdays at ten. Every Tuesday there's a little program and it will be collaborative with other partners in the area. We're going to be doing an instrument petting zoo one week with the youth orchestra of Greater Columbus. We're going to be working with Oxbow Meadows to bring in some animals into our children's garden. So a lot of fun and interesting things to do every week, as well as gallery play dates for different ages kids. So that's gonna be fun. We also have brought back one of our fan favorite events, which is called third Thursday. So every third Thursday of the month, we do some sort of activity, whether it's a live musical performance or film screening or an artist talk. We will typically have a cash barn, refreshments, and it's the perfect free date night with entertainment, you know, food and drink, and then, of course, the museum at your disposal. So a lot of fun things going on. And then, of course, we'll have various different receptions and events going on for our museum members as well. So always something going on here. Yeah.

Yeah. It sounds like a champion for things for all ages and of course, for anyone listening. We'll definitely have links in the episode description for the website and their social media as well. So be sure to follow up on what's going on at the Columbus museum. And you mentioned that you also have memberships, which I'm sure are, especially with the new renovation, wanting to come back again and again, that memberships are going to be a really great way to stay connected with history and all that's going on at the Columbus museum. And for folks who are interested in getting involved, whether it's volunteering, donating to the museum, becoming a member, or simply visiting, we'll have the website link and social media and the link description. But, you know, I'd love to conclude with just asking if there's a personal story or experience that highlights what the Columbus museum means to y'all. You know, I know that anyone who works at a, especially a nonprofit museum, you know, there's such a passion aligned with it. And what does the museum mean to you? And if there's a certain story you have to share with us, I'd love to hear that and share that with our audience.

Sure. I'll go ahead and start. So at mine, you know, I had stories from before the renovation, but this one, since the renovation has really just touched my heart. And we had so many people coming through our first weekend, but this one family who we had seen before, you know, come to the museum and visit before renovation, they have a young boy who's probably about seven or eight years old now, and he walked inside the doors seeing the renovated museum for the first time, and he just went, wow. I mean, whole face lit up. And if that wasn't enough, you know, we were all so excited to see that reaction. But we got to see, as the family traveled throughout the museum and each space and every time he was just like, there's more. Oh, my gosh. You know, and not just the children's gallery, the art, the art galleries and the history galleries. I mean, it was just a joy to see that experience and knowing that from, from one end of the building to the other, really, their whole family just had a great time and couldn't believe what all there was to do. So that, that really was super meaningful to me.

Oh, yeah. That's what it's all about. Just that wow factor for the child. You know, they're going to remember that forever. That's so.

Oh, yeah.

How about for you, Rebecca?

So I'm going to cheat slightly. I have two. I promise I'll make them both short. The first one, as far as this renovation experience. So, you know, the greatest joy of reopening has been having people back in the space finally and seeing everything we've been working on. And one of our very first nights that we were reopened, we had a special event to celebrate, to party and celebrate everything that we had done. And when you're in our introductory history gallery, before you go into the, what I call the choose your own adventure, of the three other galleries, there is a floor map that shows several streets and kind of important community places. Well known businesses of Columbus, the Chattahoochee river, and the Whitewater rafting is there. So it shows a lot of the downtown and the midtown area. And I watched a man who was with a couple other folks, and he walked over and stood on top of where the museum is on the map. And then he walked a few steps this way, and then he walked a few steps this way, and then he, he took one more stop, and then he stepped, he stopped, and he said, this is my house. Aw. This is where I live. And that just warmed the cockles of my heart, because we wanted to feel local, right? We want people to make that connection with their home. So to see that really visceral experience of, I'm going to use this map and connect myself back to the museum. That was really, really exciting to see. And just the other thing, you know, thinking about what the Columbus museum means to me, to get sappy for a second. I've been here many, many years now, and we have an amazing staff and a staff that works really hard. And I know not every museum professional has always the best experience sometimes, you know, we face a lot of challenges in our workplaces sometimes, but our staff always works so hard and is on top of it. And we now have a building that reflects on the outside all the effort that has been going into programming and exhibitions and gardens and everything that we do now. The outside reflects all the work that the staff has been doing on this inside. And that's really, really rewarding and exciting to be able to put our best foot forward aesthetically in addition to everything else we've been doing.

Oh, that's a beautiful note to conclude on. I'm so excited for y'all, and I can't wait to see the museum. I'm gonna actually be there in about mid June or so. So I'm.

Yay.

Yeah. If we say hi, obviously, yes.

I was like, please let us know.

Yeah. And I just can't wait. And so, folks, I highly recommend if you can get down to Columbus, or if you're in the Columbus area, be sure to check out the Columbus museum. You can see all that's going on@columbusmuseum.com. make sure to follow them on social media. Those links are going to be in our episode description. But Kristin, Rebecca, thank you so much for sharing all of this. And congratulations, y'all. I mean, what a, what a huge effort. I'm just so excited for folks to experience the new Columbus museum. It's such an exciting time and I really appreciate y'all sharing it with our audience today.

Well, thank you so much. We really appreciate the excitement. And, you know, we've been overflowing with it for so long that to get to share it with everybody is so meaningful. So we appreciate you.

Yeah, thank you so very much.

Then again, is a production of the Northeast Georgia History center in Gainesville, Georgia. Our podcast is edited by Andrews Gilles. Our digital and on site programs are made possible by the Adamay Ioster Education center. Please join us next week for another episode of then again.