Press Release 07.03.19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Crowdsourcing Gainesville Memories for Manhole Cover MFA Thesis Exhibit at Santa Fe Gallery in August; Preserving Local History

Shawna Mansfield offers an opportunity to preserve the memories of one of Gainesville’s lost communities.

Gainesville, FL, July 3, 2019 – Shawna Mansfield, a local Santa Fe College professor and MFA student at Savannah College of Art and Design, wants to hear about your experiences in the area of Gainesville that now holds The Standard but once held beloved local businesses such as Burrito Brothers, The Bike Route, and Goerings Book Store.

As part of her visual exhibit at the Santa Fe Gallery on August 6th, she plans to showcase the culture and community that once claimed the corner of NW 13th Street and University Avenue. Her thesis focuses on the opportunity graphic designers have, as placemakers, to celebrate a neighborhoods history and values through urban infrastructure as cultural artifacts. Manhole covers, as an element of the urban landscape, have the potential to carry a visual message that would imbue a sense of pride and place in each of these communities.

Currently Shawna is successfully crowdsourcing images of manhole covers from fellow enthusiasts around the world. Crowdsourcing memories from those who have lived or currently live in Gainesville and socialized in this specific area of Gainesville is not quite so simple a task.

“I need to connect with a rather large scope of people, and because that corner of Gainesville has been desolate since the early 2000s until The Standard was built, it has been a challenge to find the people that hold those memories and experiences.”

This is a chance to preserve a piece of our local history through the words of those who lived it and loved it. There is so little information on file about the corner of NW 13th Street and NW University Avenue, that after a research visit to the Matheson Museum Archives, curator Kaitlyn Hof-Mahoney, asked Shawna to share her findings with them once her project was completed. 

“I hope to hear from a minimum of 10-20 people through my website form. People are immensely passionate about what use to be on this specific corner of Gainesville and their experiences are valuable to the history of our city. I want to show off that pride of place in my exhibit, as much as possible.”

Share your memories – and even photos - through Shawna Mansfield’s thesis website by July 22nd: www.shawnamansfield.com

Contact Information

Shawna Mansfield
www.shawnamansfield.com

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