Mildred/Lillie Archaeology

July 2 – July 22

3-week session, $3000.

Mark Dion, Jeffrey Jenkins, J. Morgan Puett, Rebecca Purcell, Allison Smith, Amy Yoes, and other Mildred’s Lane all-stars to be announced.

An ongoing preservation and project installation surrounding the eighteenth century/nineteenth century stories we have uncovered about the old homestead we now call, The Mildred’s Lane Transhistorical Society and Museum. Join the dig and become a life member! 

Mildred Archaeology is an ongoing project revealing hidden histories of Mildred’s Lane. The old farmhouse on site is a small, 1830-1840s homestead with a 1790s hearth. The investigation of the Mildred House started back in the late nineties. There have been several iterations and excavations telling the story of the Steffens family. Histories have been pieced together with the help of relatives, neighbors and local historians. These sessions have resulted in a number of permanent installations and interventions.

During Sessions 2017, research fellows discovered new information connecting the site to Connecticut Settlers, in the 1750s. The original owners of the location were the Lillie family, who, amongst others, settled at Cushetunk on the Delaware River. Lillie Archaeology is the continuation of the dig around the historic structures which yielded such a remarkable amount of curious material last year, and the installation produced by fellows at The Mildred Complex(ity) Project Space was our most popular exhibition to date.

Threaded through this session will be looking at ‘things,’ their imbued value and histories. What is an artifact? What is really garbage? Other explorations of the place of material culture in art, archaeology and everyday life will be explored. Topics include collecting, taxonomies, site-sensitive installation – thingness.