The Montclair Art Council (MAC) presents a special exhibit created by older adults to bring a treasure trove of personal memories to the Montclair community. Passports to Remembrance: These are a Few of Our Favorite Things is now on display at the Montclair Municipal Building, 205 Claremont Avenue on the second floor, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

During the past year, the MAC’s Creative Aging Initiative developed and conducted the Passports project to engage older Montclair adults in photography and story telling experiences. Participants were photographed with a possession that had a significant connection to their lives. The relationship between the person and the significant possession was explained in an interview. The photographers and interviewers who collected the images and remembrances were also older Montclair adults. A cross-generational technical team edited the photos and the transcripts and mounted both to create an extraordinary exhibit.

The end result – 37 photographs and stories – were on exhibit at the Montclair Public Library in December 2007 and are now available to be viewed by the public in the Municipal Building.

“MAC is delighted that we are able to house this exhibit in the Municipal building,” said Jim Peskin, MAC Executive Director. “The stories and images of the participating seniors are create a touching and captivating portrait of Montclair's rich history.”

Recently, two of the participants were invited to tell their personal stories to the Digital Audio and Visual Communication Class at Montclair High School. Adele Vick reminisced about the black community’s way of life in the Newark of the 1950’s. The black velvet evening purse she wore to a Christmas social event at the Terrace Ballroom when she was 16 brings back a time when Newark was nicer, more genteel, and kinder. 

Sharon Sandusky explained how her first grade workbook from the Dick and Jane series has traveled with her from Minnesota to Indiana, to Mississippi, to South Carolina, to Japan, to New York State, to Colorado, and finally to New Jersey.

Students had an opportunity to learn how to conduct an interview, hear the retelling, and view the photo and personal account that is part of the Passports exhibit.