Category Archives: Arts

Peace Corps Volunteers as Artists

Whether it’s a letter home or a diary entry, Peace Corps Volunteers frequently document the varied images they see during their service. While abroad, Peace Corps Volunteers are often immersed in a stimulating and beautiful new environment. Many volunteers therefore wish to tell their family and friends back home about their new adventures, or find a way to memorialize their surroundings so they can revisit them in the future.

While some PCVs have chosen to photograph their travels, some PCVs have documented their different surroundings through their artistic abilities. In letters, a quick sketch will assist to visually explain complex designs in architecture or costumes. Detailed drawings in a diary entry encourage reflection when PCVs have a moment to themselves.

David Day served in Kenya and India from 1965-1967. He sent regular letters to his parents and included quick sketches of what he saw during his travels. His drawings vary from a scooter driver to a detail of an Indian street. He even drew a few of the homes he stayed in to explain the varying architectural designs to his parents.

David Day quickly sketched a typical Shamata house from his time in Kenya. He sent the letter to his parents to update them on his experiences in the Peace Corps.

David Day quickly sketched a typical Shamata house from his time in Kenya. He sent the letter to his parents to update them on his experiences in the Peace Corps.

 

Day illustrated his home in India to his parents and detailed the differences between his home and the rest of the village.

Day illustrated his home in India to his parents and detailed the differences between his home and the rest of the village.

Bobbie Seibert volunteered in 2000 in Honduras. Seibert spent her free time sketching and would detail the various scenes before her. She captured a variety of locations, from still lifes to landscapes. On one drawing, she notes she was waiting for someone to fix her chimney but gave up after two hours.

 

Bobbie Seibert artistically sketched this landscape of Azacualpa, Honduras.

Bobbie Seibert artistically sketched this landscape of Azacualpa, Honduras.

 

Seibert sketched the corner of her temporary apartment as she waited for her site to become available.

Seibert sketched the corner of her temporary apartment as she waited for her site to become available.

 

For more information, please visit the Peace Corps Community Archive website. To use the collections or make a donation, please contact the AU Archives at archives [at] american.edu.

“The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love”: Serving in the Peace Corps

Since President Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, over 220,000 volunteers have served in 140 different host countries across the world. Once assigned to a country, volunteers serve a variety of roles. Departments of specialization include education, development, and health. While actively working with communities, Peace Corps volunteers have to adapt to life in a new culture and environment.

Volunteer Meghan Keith-Hynes speaking to a Haitian woman near a stone circle plot.

Volunteer Meghan Keith-Hynes speaking to a Haitian woman near a stone circle plot.

Although passionate and eager to serve developing communities, Peace Corps volunteers may not necessarily have previous experience in their field of work. The sense of being “thrown into” such work can create both excitement and anxiety for new volunteers. Through their previous connections at home and their new connections abroad, Peace Corps volunteers successfully navigate their exciting and unexpected experiences.

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Kay Muldoon-Ibrahim in Chile; Peace Corps Photographer

Kay Muldoon-Ibrahim

Country of Service: Chile
Keywords: Education, Health, Community Development, Fisheries, Crafts, Mapuche Indians

Accession Date: January 14, 2016
Access: Copyright retained by Ms. Muldoon-Ibrahim
Collection Size: 79 digital files

Document Types and Finding Aid

Gage Skinner in Chile and Colombia

G. Gage Skinner

Country of Service: Chile; Colombia
Place of Service: Temuco
Service Type: Community Development
Dates in Service:1964-1966; 1969-1972
Keywords: Arts and Crafts, Mapuche Indians, Beekeeping

Accession Date: September 16, 2015, November 9, 2018
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 0.75 linear feet; .01 linear feet (poem)

Document Types

  • Diaries
  • Biographical Information
  • Training materials (post Chile – related to staff work in Colombia)
  • Poem (September 9, 2020)
  • Publications

Finding Aid

  1. Biographical Material 
  2. Diary – Nov 24, 1964 – Oct 16, 1965 
  3. Diary Attachments – Nov 24, 1964-Oct 16, 1965 
  4. Diary, Mapuche Fieldwork 
  5. Diary Attachments, Mapuche Fieldwork 
  6. Diary – Excerpts Transcribed, Mapuche Indian Reservations, Southern Chile, 1964-1966 
  7. Journal & Diary Ties 
  8. Letters 
  9. Official Paperwork (Invitation, Certificate of Appreciation) 
  10. Peace Corps: Volume 1, 1966 
  11. Peace Corps: Volume 3, 1966 
  12. Peace Corps: Volume 4, 1966 
  13. Peace Corps: Volume 8, 1966 
  14. Photographs 
  15. Project Report, Community Development in Chile 
  16. Publication (Poem), Excerpts from 1965 & Context from 2020 
    1. “Lockdown Poems and Other Tales” 
  17. Report, Economic Development, Chile – Uses Interviews Conducted, ’64-‘66 
  18. Skinner’s “Possibles Bag” of Mountain Man Poetry and Random Rhymes 
  19. Training Material 
  20. Assoc Regional PC Director, Bogota
  21. Colombia Material 
  22. Report, 1972 Sierra Nevada, Hiking Expedition 
  23. Training Material 
    1. Includes published materials 

Bobbe Seibert in Honduras

Bobbe Seibert

Country of Service: Honduras
Service Project Title: Hillside Farming Extension
Dates in Service: 2000
Keywords: Agriculture, Business, Community Development

Accession Date: July 29, 2015
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 0.5 linear feet

Document Types

    • Correspondence
    • Photographs
    • Reports
    • Diaries
    • Training Materials
    • Artwork
    • Memorabilia

Finding Aid

  1. Artwork by Bobbe 
    1. Sketches 
  2. “Azacualpa Initial Logbook” May 2, 2000-Nov 28, 2000 
  3. Daily Planner and Journal, 2000 – Address Book 
  4. Diary, Pre-Tour, Oct 15, 1999-Nov. 6, 1999 
  5. Diary, Pre-Service Training, March 2000 
  6. Diaries – Volume I – May 11, 2000-Aug 25, 2000, Volume II – Aug 27, 2000-Dec 1, 2000 
  7. Field-Based Training Log, March 4-August 11 
  8. Financial 
  9. Letters and Emails to Spouse, John Seibert, Feb 1, 2000-Oct 26, 2000 
    1. Includes Sketches 
  10. Letters from Bobbe to Family (Parents), March 11, 2000-Oct 17, 2000 
  11. Letters to Bobbe from Spouse, Family, and Friends – Feb 14, 2000-July 24, 2002 
  12. Memorabilia 
    1. ID 
    2. Paintings 
    3. Arrowhead 
  13. Paperwork, Official Peace Corps – 2000-2001 
  14. Photographs of the Community and Places 
  15. Photographs of Peace Corps Volunteers 
  16. Programs 
  17. Site Directory 
  18. Training Group Volunteer Pictures, “Peace Corps Honduras Mugbook” 
  19. Travel 

Student Artwork in the Peace Corps Community Archive

Christine Wenk-Harrison served her time in the Peace Corps working as an art teacher with students in Sierra Leone.  Her lesson plan notebook shows how Christine stressed the originality of artwork to her students. She believed art could be “something about you, your own idea, and work.” Her lesson plans also reveal her belief that teaching through art could demonstrate to her students how to work both creatively and independently while at the same time following instructions and overall directions.

Through art, Christine’s students expressed themselves, their culture, and their hopes. Below are several examples of her students’ work, held in American’s University’s Peace Corps Community Archive.

Wenk-Harrison Soccer Student Artwork

Student Artwork, Christine Wenk-Harrison, American University Peace Corps Community Archive

Wenk-Harrison Object Student Artwork

Student Artwork, Christine Wenk-Harrison, American University Peace Corps Community Archive

Student Artwork, Christine Wenk-Harrison, American University Peace Corps Community Archive

All The World’s a Stage: A Nigerian Shakespeare Festival

Tom Hebert served in the Peace Corps from 1962-1964. During his service in Nigeria, he served as a business manager for the University of Ibadan’s School of Drama. In this role, he also worked as the “advance man” for the University of Ibadan’s “Theater on Wheels” cross country tour. His duties including tour logistics, promotion, and coordinating with local civic organizations.  In 1964, in commemoration of William Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, the tour group organized a traveling Shakespeare festival. Actors performed selected scenes from plays such as Richard II, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Many West Africans read Shakespeare in school and in many cases throughout the tour, actors performed in front of full capacity audiences. In the city of Calabar, not even a rainstorm shortly after the start of Julius Caesar prevented the audience from enjoying the show. Shown below is a poster advertising the March 6-7, 1964 Shakespeare festival in Ibadan, Nigeria. Tom Hebert donated this item to the Peace Corps Community Archive this past summer. Many of the details in this post are taken from Hebert’s reminiscences of his Peace Corps service.

Ibadan Shakespeare Festival, March 6-7, 1964. American University Peace Corps Community Archive

Ibadan Shakespeare Festival, March 6-7, 1964. American University Peace Corps Community Archive

Tom Hebert in Nigeria

Name: Tom Hebert

Country of Service: Nigeria
Place of Service: Ibadan
Service Project Title: University of Ibadan’s Shakespeare Traveling Theatre (Tour Manager)
Dates in Service: 1962-1964
Keywords: Arts

Accession Date: June 3, 2014
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 1 oversize item and 8 linear inches

Document Types

Finding Aid

  1. Training Materials – “Syllabus for the Peace Corps Training Program – Secondary School Teachers” 
  2. Teaching Materials – UCLA Schedule, Readings, Lecture Notes, Exams 
  3. Application: Blank Peace Corps Application 
  4. Correspondence 
  5. Returned Peace Corps Materials 
  6. Newsletter: “the Tilley Lamp” 
  7. Official Paperwork: Peace Corps Service 
    1. Certificate 
  8. School and Teaching Materials – Ahmadiyya Grammar School 
    1. English exams from students 
  9. School and Teaching Materials – University of Ibadan 
  10. Theater Materials (Nigerian) 
  11. Theatre Production, “The Gossips of Ewa” 
    1. Photos and Prompt/Cue book 
  12. Theatre Production: Shakespeare 
  13. Training Materials – Letters from students in the teacher training course 
  14. Training Materials – Supplies and Medical Information 
  15. Traveling Materials (maps, etc.) 

Unexpected Finds in the PCCA

The Peace Corps Community Archive is more than old documents and  photos.  In fact, the collection contains a few unexpected items.

Travel Brochures

Travel guides and brochures found in Steven Bossi’s collection.

Steve Bossi’s collection includes vibrant travel brochures, guidebooks, and maps of India in the 1960s.  Guidebooks from Delhi and Agra include images and maps depicting the cities’ beautiful architecture and historic and religious sites.  Each guidebook provides an historic overview of the city and its tourist attractions.  The colorful maps reveal popular sites and accommodations, as well as industries, agriculture, infrastructure projects, and “handicrafts emporiums” found throughout the region.

Maps

Maps and travel guide from Steven Bossi’s collection.

Located amid the DeAntoni’s correspondence are Turkish greeting cards.  Karen DeAntoni sent the cards to family members in the United States in 1965.  The cards include embossed images and prints of engravings depicting Turkey’s culture and history.

Embossed Cards

Turkish embossed cards sent by Karen DeAntoni.

Engraved Cards

Top: An engraving of the rock relief at Yazilikaya–the Hitite King Tudhaliya IV. Engraving created by Charles Texier in the 1830s. Bottom: Ankara in 1701. From an engraving by Pitton de Tournefort.

Not only are these visually interesting, but they provide a new perspective of the places Peace Corps volunteers called home.

 

 

 

Peace Corps through Images: The People

Below are images of local citizens taken by Peace Corps volunteers.  Each photograph captures local culture and customs through the nation’s people — as artisans, students, families, and participants in celebrations.

“Paraguayan artisan making ‘nanduti’ (spider-web lace) in her home shop in Itagua, the center of the nanduti artistry.” Caption written by Robert Meade.

 

“Students husking–polishing the floor with a coconut husk. At 7:00 AM–before school duties.” Caption written by Joyce Emery Johnston

 

“Campesino home and family.” Caption written by Robert Meade.

 

PC Boge- Snake Charmer edit

Snake Charmer

 

Celebration. Captured by Norm and Janet Heise while working for Walt Sangree, professor of anthropology. circa 1963-1965.