Women's March Signs Are Headed To Museums And Libraries Across The Globe

Here's a breakdown of some of those sign collecting efforts.
Barcroft Media via Getty Images

The many, many people who marched for women’s rights this weekend have several things in common: they have faith in the power of resistance, they understand that “feminist issues” are progressive issues, they believe “Gender Justice is Racial Justice is Economic Justice.”

And they also know how to make a good protest sign.

Amateur and professional photographers memorialized many of the smart, compelling and even hilarious signage found in marches across the country (and across the globe). But upon seeing some of the poster art left purposefully in front of government buildings and Trump towers, some across the internet wondered whether or not anyone ― or any organization ― had plans to collect and archive the physical Women’s March signs.

I hope the @Newseum or @smithsonian is picking some of those up as it was historic day with the largest inaugural protest ever #sizematters https://t.co/MYftWWPpML

— Boyd Walker (@boydwalker) January 22, 2017

Thankfully, as New York Magazine reported, museums, libraries and galleries around the world are indeed collecting your signs in an effort to remember the historic marches that took place a day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Among them is the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, which sent curatorial team members to collect art left over from protests on Inauguration Day and the day after in Washington, D.C.

@boydwalker Our political history curatorial team was out on the National Mall on both Friday and Saturday.

— amhistorymuseum (@amhistorymuseum) January 22, 2017

In an email to The Huffington Post, The New York Historical Society explained that it is also collecting items from the Women’s Marches. “We collected approximately 20 signs in D.C. and New York City, as well as several buttons, hats, flyers and stickers,” Communications Manager Marybeth Ihle told us, “but anticipate that many more items will flow in over the next few weeks as people respond to our outreach efforts.”

Last year, the New York Historical Society opted to preserve some of the “Subway Therapy” post-it notes that appeared in NYC Metro stations not long after Trump’s election.

Below is a breakdown of sign collecting efforts we’ve discovered on Twitter. If your state or country isn’t included in this list, we suggest reaching out to your local history museum, art gallery or library to see if they are starting a collection of their own. If they are, let us know! And we’ll add them here.

California:

Pease consider donating your signs, flyers, buttons, hats from LA Womens March to us. We will create an archive. Contact ullmann@usc.edu

— USCSpeCol (@USCSpeCol) January 23, 2017

San Jose/Bay Area #WomensMarch #WomensMarchBayArea attendees: I'm collecting signs for display in #dtsj #signstormsj https://t.co/Nryh9ADffR

— Leah Jay (@leahjayart) January 23, 2017

The Sutro Library on San Francisco State University’s campus is also collecting materials from all the marches. Materials can be dropped off or can be mailed to: CA Women’s March Collection, 1630 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94132. For more information, please contact: mattie.taormina@library.ca.gov.

Colorado:

@Steenshorne @womensmarch @denverlibrary's Western History Dept. is.

— Kate Crowe (@kcrowe) January 22, 2017

Georgia:

The library at Emory University in Atlanta is collecting signs.

Illinois:

Marching this weekend? We're collecting #ephemera as part of a living archive of modern protest! DM us for details. #womensmarch pic.twitter.com/xURxTsnz6d

— Newberry Library (@NewberryLibrary) January 20, 2017

Indiana:

@brinepond @NewberryLibrary the @state_library in Indianapolis was collecting signs today & has been collecting them from previous rallies

— Rebecca Pattillo (@life_of_sources) January 21, 2017

Iowa:

Iowa Women's Archives collecting signs, flyers, pictures, written accounts, etc. from #womensmarch #wmia https://t.co/P0vSUEWelA

— Jennifer Bradshaw (@Jennywren129) January 23, 2017

Kansas:

ATTN: #Kansas #WomensMarch Attendees!!! - https://t.co/kqB54gmwG1 - @KansasHistory Museum is collecting signs from the Women's March!

— WomensMarchKS (@WomensMarchKS) January 23, 2017

Maine

Did you march Sat? Want your sign preserved for posterity? Drop it off @ the MHS Brown Library & we'll add it to our archives! Wed-Sat 10-4. https://t.co/jU4Npo68Vn

— Maine Historical Soc (@mainehistory) January 23, 2017

Massachusetts:

@usernamexherex @HuffPostArts Check out this article in the @BostonGlobe on local professors' preservation efforts:

— BostonPublicLibrary (@BPLBoston) January 26, 2017

Michigan:

#womensmarchlansing @MSUMuseum is collecting stories, signs & stuff to document this historic day! Contact curator S. Wajda wajdashi@msu.edu

— Shirley T. Wajda (@stwajda) January 22, 2017

Montana:

The Montana Historical Society is collecting signs from the march in Helena.

New Jersey:

Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives is collecting signs from marches, including the ones in NYC and D.C.

North Carolina:

@NCCollection is collecting handmade signs from the Raleigh #WomensMarch . https://t.co/1pumaYXEVg

— UNC Library (@UNCLibrary) January 23, 2017

Ohio:

To make a collections donation to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati you can contact Curator Ashley Jordan at ajordan@nurfc.org and Director of Museum Experiences Richard Cooper at rcooper@nurfc.org.

Pennsylvania:

PHOTO: Cleverness #phillywomenmarch @TempleUniv collecting signs for the archives pic.twitter.com/ZxPHnaBUpY

— Bob Schmidt (@BobSchmidt7) January 21, 2017

Virginia:

In a Facebook message to HuffPost, an employee from the Virginia Historical Society confirmed that the organization is collecting signs.

Canada:

Participated in #WomensMarch? The Art Gallery of Guelph is collecting signs & pins! Drop off Tues-Sun 12-5pm. Please share... #Guelph

— AGG (@AGGuelph) January 23, 2017

Albertans who marched #WomensMarch: @RoyalAlberta is collecting signs and pins from the #womensmarchyeg, #womensmarchyyc

— Sarah Walshaw (@SarahCWalshaw) January 22, 2017

U.K.:

If you are in London and have signs from yesterday's #WomensMarch the @BishopsgateInst are collecting placards https://t.co/9AKdUDnBcx

— History Workshop (@HistoryWO) January 22, 2017

Please drop us a line if you collected ephemera & placards from #Londonwomensmarch today. We love to give them a home! #archives #protest

— Stef Dickers (@stefdickers) January 21, 2017

This article has been updated to include a statement from the New York Historical Society and will continue to be updated as we learn of more institutions’ collecting efforts.

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