THE MOSAIC PROJECT: VOICES FROM THE PAST 1900 - 1925

An immersive experience featuring Havre de Grace stories and images presented at the Cultural Center at the Opera House.

This 90-minute, stunning projection show transports visitors into the early 1900's of Havre de Grace with episodes from the canning and fishing industries, dances at the Bayou, Prohibition, the Colored School, speakeasies, the racetrack, and local suffragists. Based on oral histories and local interviews, these stories are brought to life through recorded dialog, a curated musical soundtrack, original video, authentic and created images which propel viewers into the past. (Not recommended for children 5 and under.)

Get Tickets!

Friday, July 29   6:00pm
Friday, July 29  8:00pm
Saturday, July 30  4:00pm
Saturday, July 30  6:00pm
Saturday, July 30  8:00pm
Sunday, July 31  2:00pm
Sunday, July 31  4:00pm
Friday, August 5  6:00pm
Friday, August 5  8:00pm
Saturday, August 6  4:00pm
Sunday, August 7  2:00pm
Sunday, August 7  4:00pm

About the Havre de Grace Mosaic Project

The Havre de Grace Mosaic Project is an arts-based expression of the personal stories of people, places, circumstances, milestones, and objects that have contributed to the unique personality of the City of Havre de Grace. Supported by a grant from the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, the Mosaic Project is all about YOU.

We want you to share your family genealogies and the stories of your parents and grandparents. We want to capture these narratives, pictures, and anecdotes, and bring them to life. But we need your help.

This project's strengths are its collaborative nature with existing organizations within the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, and how it utilizes and highlights the unique history and resources of the area, particularly within Havre de Grace and its environs. The Mosaic Project will enhance people's awareness and appreciation of this area through the arts. Performances, immersive experiences, and displays will provide both entertainment and information to visitors and locals alike.

Due to the delays caused by Covid 19, the research part of our project, which began in the Fall of 2019, has continued through 2021. The research has been conducted in partnership with several existing organizations. Havre de Grace history has already been documented in a variety of arenas via taped and transcribed interviews for the Harford Living Treasures Project; displays and primary sources housed in area museums (Susquehanna Museum at the Lock House, Maritime Museum, Decory Museum, Concord Point Lighthouse and Lighthouse Keeper's House, the Colored School Foundation and Cultural Center, Steppingstone Farm Museum and Havre de Grace Historical Preservation), local antique stores, Mary L. Martin Ltd Antique Postcards, Harford County Public Library, Maryland Collection, Historical Society of Harford County; and, private collections held by local historians, genealogists, storytellers, and librarians. Several representatives from these organizations have already been invited and have agreed to participate in the research and collection module of the Mosaic Project.

Timeline

September, 2019: Receive grant early phases of the Havre de Grace Mosaic Project from the Lower Susquehanna Greenway; Grant has been extended due to Covid through August 2022.

October 2019: Begin building Mosaic Project Team for research, discovery, and initial vignettes. DONE.

November 2019: Review existing oral histories at DigitalMaryland.org, Living Treasures, Ellie Mencer’s Stories of Havre de Grace, HdG Colored School Museum oral histories, Harford Community College Civil Rights Project, Havre de Grace Alliance Distrix Project, and Marita O’Connell’s HdG historic district’s house stories. DONE.

January 2020: Begin collecting stories from “new” people recommended by team and partners and launch web page. Due to Covid 19, continue research and story collection through 2021 and into the first half of 2022. Phase ONE complete.

March-April 2020 to present: Begin work on printing and collecting Havre de Grace Mosaic Historic Photographs for 2022 Exhibit. Still in progress. Phase ONE to be completed by installation of the immersive experience of the Voices of the Past, 1900-1925 installation in late July/August 2022.

March 2019 - January 2021 - Pause due to Covid 19 pandemic

March 2021: Begin virtual presentations (when possible) of some of the Mosaic vignettes. These will be called “The Mosaic Project: Behind the Scenes” and are sneak peeks into the full-length production. DONE.

March 2021 to present: Preparation for “Dawn’s Early Light” production for May 1, 2021 performance in conjunction with Defender’s Day at Tydings Park. DONE. Update: Intention was that this production would be repeated in May, 2022, but Defender’s Day 2022 was cancelled due to weather and an uptick in Covid cases.

May 2021: Live production of Dawn’s Early Light. Completed and repeated (in a mini version) the following weekend for the arrival of the "Pride of Baltimore II" DONE.

January 2022: Oral stories and interviews were translated into dialogue and initially into play format.

May 26-27, 2022: Auditions for The Mosaic: Voices from the Past, 1900-1925. All ages were welcomed. Auditions were at the 2nd Floor Fire Hall above the Opera House. 6 - 7 pm for children; 7 - 9 pm for adults.

May 30, 2022:  The format of the Mosaic Project morphed from a traditional onstage production to a complete “immersive experience.” This 90-minute, stunning projection show will transport visitors into the early 1900's of Havre de Grace with episodes from the canning and fishing industries, dances at the Bayou, Prohibition, the Colored School, speakeasies, the racetrack, and local suffragists. Based on oral histories and local interviews, these stories will be brought to life through recorded dialog, a curated musical soundtrack, original video, authentic and created images which will propel viewers into the past.

July 29, 30,31, August 5, 6, 7, 2022: The Mosaic Project:  Voices from the Past, 1900-1925  Limited seating, multiple seating times, reservations advised.

 

Project Team and Contact Info

All HdG Mosaic Team Members can be contacted through the Havre de Grace Arts Collective, 443-502-2005 or by email, HdGMosaicProject@hdgartscollective.org

In Alphabetical Order
• Sylke Bargsten, local musician and composer; for the Mosaic Project, is curating the soundtrack through historically appropriate music as well as original compositions.
• Irmgarde Brown, project coordinator
• Ron Browning, Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission
• Jimmy-O Burril, videographer, filmmaker, musician, recording artist, artist, muralist, and the list goes on. For the Mosaic Project, Jimmy will be working on the recordings and supporting the technical aspects of the multi-media needs for the installation.
• Pat Cole, President, Havre de Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center, Inc.
• Susan Deeney, retired librarian, research and discovery
• David Dirlam, PhD, Author of Teachers, Learners, Modes of Practice: Theory and Methodology for Identifying Knowledge Development; Routledge Explorations in Developmental Psychology, 2017
• Rebecca Jessop, Executive Director of Havre de Grace Arts Collective, grant coordinator
• Kathy Keen, Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission
• Bob Lackey, historian and writer, consultant
• Gay Lynn Price, retired HCPS teacher, For the Mosaic Project, Gay Lynn will be doing costuming for all custom-made images.
• William Price III, Havre de Grace Arts Collective Board Chair, project artistic director, Immersive Space Designer, and Technical Director
• Christopher Providence, Havre de Grace Arts Collective volunteer
• Amy Rosenkrans, PhD, Baltimore City Schools teacher, Maryland Women’s Heritage Center Board of Directors, spearheaded historical marker in Havre de Grace for National Votes for Women Trail. For the Mosaic Project, she is curating the historical images.
• Deb Stathes, Chair, Havre de Grace Twinning Association.
• George Wagner, Bahoukas Antique Mall and Beer MuZeum, Casual Historian and Images
• Bob Willenbrink, retired professor and department head, Missouri Western State University, research and discovery, artistic direction

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