Genesee Country Village & Museum to Host Smithsonian Exhibit 'Voices and Votes'

June 4 through July 25

Mumford, NY (May 31, 2025) – Genesee Country Village & Museum will be the ninth stop in the New York tour of the “A New Agora for New York: Museums as Spaces for Democracy” project hosted by the Museum Association of New York (MANY). This project includes Voices and Votes: Democracy in America, a Museum on Main Street (MoMS) exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES), Freedom Fighter: Mary Gray Peck and Social Reform an exhibition developed by GCV&M, and a series of humanities discussion programs. The exhibitions and programs, on view in GCV&M’s John L. Wehle Gallery from Wednesday, June 4 through Friday, July 25, examine the nearly 250-year-old American experiment of a government “of, by and for the people,” and how each generation since continues to question how to form “a more perfect union.”

Voices and Votes explores the action, reaction, vision, and revision democracy demands as Americans continue to question how to shape American values. From the revolution and suffrage to civil rights and casting ballots, all communities are part of the evolving story of democracy in America. Exhibition sections highlight the origins of American democracy, the struggles to obtain and keep the vote, the machinery of democracy, the right to petition and protest beyond the ballot, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. The exhibition includes multimedia interactives and historical objects like campaign souvenirs, voter memorabilia, and protest materials.

“Genesee Country Village & Museum is honored to be the Rochester-area site for Voices and Votes. As a museum dedicated to sharing stories of the history of New York, we look forward to visitors learning more about how democracy has evolved over the past 250 years and the stories of those from our area who had an impact on it,” said Becky Wehle, GCV&M President & CEO.

“A New Agora for New York: Museums as Spaces for Democracy,” a museum capacity building and humanities discussion series project, was initially funded by the NEH and uses Voices and Votes as a launching point for museums and their communities to explore, reflect on, and tell the story of their role in the evolution of American Democracy. Despite the loss of federal funding, this project continues thanks to the tremendous local and museum community support.

“New York State has an incredibly rich history of civic participation and leadership,” said MANY’s Agora Project Fellow, Ren Lee. “This project provides an opportunity for these museums to share the unique stories of their communities’ fight for freedom and what that means for the future.”

GCV&M’s response exhibition, Freedom Fighter: Mary Gray Peck and Social Reform will tell the story of Mary Gray Peck from Ontario County who devoted her life to supporting social reforms. She was an aide to suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt and saw firsthand the ratification of the 19^th amendment. After suffrage, she fought for women's education and advancement, free speech, and other causes. Mary’s grandparents owned the Jones Farmhouse, now located in GCV&M’s Historic Village, and she grew up across the street from the Farmhouse.

Admission to both Voices and Votes and Freedom Fighter is included with Museum admission.

Humanities Discussion Series and exhibition-related programs include:

• A Naturalization Ceremony on Friday, July 4 at 11 am during the Museum’s annual Independence Day Celebration.
• Community Conversation on Saturday, July 12 at 4 pm - Joe Murphy from Humanities New York, will host an opportunity for the public to come together for thoughtful discussion about our shared values as Americans—past, present, and future.
• Educator Workshop on Saturday, July 19 – In partnership with the NYS Office of Cultural Education and MANY, there will be a free educator workshop to help teachers gain the skills to incorporate exhibitions like Voices and Votes into their classrooms and curriculums. This workshop is applicable for Continuing Teacher and Leader Education credit.
• SUNY Geneseo Land Democracy exhibit on view in the Genesee Country Nature Center Saturdays and Sundays. Students in Dr. Gilbert-Overland’s Environmental Justice class researched and developed posters, each related to a different policy, event, or trend that has impacted a person’s or group of people’s access to land or to making decisions about the land.

“A New Agora for New York: Museums as Spaces for Democracy” humanities discussion programs are made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

About Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 65 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. For exhibition description and tour schedules, visit sites.si.edu.