“Home” is something we all know the meaning of – until we try to put it into words. Is home your house, your town, or your community? Is it defined by a physical location, by a feeling, or by the people around you? Can a person find a sense of home in the face of displacement, incarceration, institutionalization, or disaster? Can someone be unhoused, and still have a place they call home?

Beyond the Picket Fence: The Places & Spaces We Call Home explores the concept of home in all its definitions and asks us to consider the variety of elements that let us know when we have found home. From Lillian Gilbreth’s analysis of what makes a home efficient to David Boder’s interviews with people displaced from their homes, the exhibit brings together artifacts from the collections of the Archives of the History of American Psychology and the Institute for Human Science and Culture. Beyond the Picket Fence was researched and curated by volunteer intern, Kellyn Toombs.

Beyond the Picket Fence joins two additional exhibits as part of the Cummings Center’s exploration of the many meanings of “home.” All three will be on-view at our free opening reception.

Home is… brings together a collection of community-loaned objects and stories that each present a unique interpretation of home. The design and installation of the exhibit was completed by Museums & Archives Studies Certificate Program student, Lacy Nicholas.
HOME is a special guest installation documenting the Akron-based HOME project, led by Josy Jones of the Chameleon Village Theatre Collective. The project has spent three years exploring the question of whether theatre can serve as a bridge between available community resources and the residents of the West Hill neighborhood in Akron.