Which objects best represent 2020? It’s Anthea M. Hartig’s job to decide. As director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., Hartig is leading an effort to document the events of this year—including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests. We spoke with her about her team’s effort to collect key artifacts.
Q: What types of objects are you looking for?
A: Masks are a universal symbol [of 2020], as are handmade protest signs. Personal protective equipment from medical workers, public health notices, even fake medicines that say they can cure the coronavirus are on our list.
Q: How do you find these types of items?
A: Our curators reach out to communities they have been working with, as well as to philanthropic organizations and public health groups. For the protests in Washington, D.C., we started by sending our curators to Lafayette Square to identify protest signs made by artists and activists. It is imperative to document this moment. Much of the material is fleeting.
Q: Why is this work important?
A: As the nation’s history museum, this is one of our highest callings. Such objects provide us with a time capsule in a way that letters, photos, diaries, and Zoom recordings often cannot. My hope is that our collecting will help people in the future see that [in 2020] we had the resiliency to combat multiple pandemics, including Covid-19 and racism, and show how we came out on the other side of history.