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Fieldnotes: California State
Railroad Museum,
2024

Chris Christion & Jessica Wimbley

Video Collage Projection

3:40 minutes

California State Railroad Museum
Sacramento, CA

This project is part of the Sacramento Public Library’s Parks and Tranquility program. This project is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library. Learn more at saclibrary.org/tranquility

In partnership with the California State Railroad Museum and the Sacramento Public Library, Fieldnotes: California State Railroad Museum is featured as a projection-mapped video installation inside the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA. Fieldnotes centers the history of black laborers and riders within railroad history, including representations of Black Pullman Porters, performances as black female riders and workers, migration, archival materials from CSRM Archives, Perlinger Archives, and a repository of images produced and collected by the artists.

A repetition of symbols including quilt codes used during the Underground Railroad and Hobo Codes used by migrant communities are integrated in the video collage- demarking the importance of the railroad in mobility and migration of various populations in the US. Translucent imagery also mimics the exhibition design signage present in the museum which highlights women and BIPOC stories in conjunction CSRM exhibition installations. The result is a multilayered, visually dense collage that tells multiple stories through the combination of archived and produced imagery.

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Fieldnotes: California State Railroad Museum, 2024  
THEMES

References: California State Railroad Museum Archive Images

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Themes

Black Porters and workers on railroads
Black female workers and riders on railroads
Migration and railroads

 

Black labor is a significant part of railroad history. Black families gained access to economic mobility through the work of Black porters, made famous by the Pullman Porters, known for their exceptional service. 

 

Both Black men and women worked on the construction of the railroads and in service capacities. Often with Black women advocating for worker's rights for Black men, or fighting segregation on trains through lawsuits.

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Migration is a core attribute of railroad history, allowing vast numbers of the populations to move through public in new ways. Quilting and Hobo codes speak to how different migrant populations were using codes along the journey.

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Parks and Tranquility Opening Celebration:

Saturday, August 10, 2024

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM at the California State Railroad Museum 125 I St, Sacramento, CA 95814.

Celebration of  Parks and Tranquility Grant awardees for the opening of the exhibits Chókim bètana wéeye (It comes from the stars) by Amy Melissa Reed and Fieldnotes: California State Railroad Museum by Chris Christion & Jessica Wimbley

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