voices of valley Oral history project at McDonough museum

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Voices of the Valley, an exhibition of recorded stories about transforming the Mahoning Valley, will be presented June 24 to July 26 at the McDonough Museum of Art, 525 Wick Ave., on the campus of Youngstown State University.

The museum invited StoryCorps to record and chronicle the stories of a cross-section of folks in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. The result is Voices of the Valley — 30 conversations among 60 individuals recorded over five days.

Visitors can listen to the conversations at the museum in individual, quiet, comfortable spaces using a variety of sound devices.

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit organization that provides people of all backgrounds the opportunity to share and preserve their stories.

Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 40,000 interviews from nearly 80,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind and millions listen to its weekly broadcasts on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” at storycorps.org and through their podcast.

The public is also invited to participate in the Share Your Story Booth at the McDonough museum.

The recording booth will be available for 25-minute conversations. Hours are limited; to make a reservation for the booth, call 330-941-1400. Participants will receive a copy of their recording and possible inclusion in DIGITAL.MAAG, a Maag Library website accessible to the public.

The McDonough museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free. For information, call 330-941-1400 or go to mcdonoughmuseum.ysu.edu.