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Peace Corps at 60 Inside the Volunteer Experience
Presented by the AU Museum Project Space
June 1–August 7, 2021
Read the exhibition catalog online.
From its inception the Peace Corps has offered an alternative path for advancing peace and promoting friendship among nations. This exhibition brings home and showcases objects and stories from 30 volunteers. They represent a sampling of the nearly 240,000 individuals who have served since the Peace Corps’ creation six decades ago.
Peace Corps volunteer Harry Birnholz (Benin 1974-77) and local farmers try a weed-management farming technique using animal traction.
Press
The Washington Diplomat: AU Museum marks 60 years of Peace Corps with intimate stories and memories
Museum of the Peace Corps Experience
National Peace Corps Association
Curated by Jack Rasmussen, Director & Curator, American University Museum, and Aly Schuman, CAS/MA ’21 art history and Alper Initiative for Washington Art Fellow.
Order the fully illustrated exhibition catalog with stories from returned Peace Corps Volunteers. $15, plus taxes and shipping.
Email museum@american.edu
View more content
Many Faces of Peace Corps, 60th Anniversary, is a production of Museum of the Peace Corps Experience and the Peace Corps Oral History Project. These stories broaden our understanding of the diversity of Peace Corps volunteers and their experiences. They were recorded through oral history interviews conducted by fellow returned volunteers.
Watch Student Voices, where American University students discuss their experiences as Peace Corps volunteers and share their thoughts on the organization’s future.
Virtual Exhibition Tour
Join Nicola Dino and Patricia A. Wand, co-chairs of the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience for a virtual tour of the exhibition.
Virtual Exhibit Opening - March 3, 2021
Peace Corps’ 60th Anniversary Celebration: Introducing Museum of the Peace Corps Experience
AU Museum Director and Curator Jack Rasmussen and Museum of the Peace Corps Experience co-chairs Nicola Dino and Patricia A. Wand discuss the development of the exhibition. The talk follows welcoming remarks by Sylvia Matthews Burwell, president of American University; Carol Spahn, acting director of Peace Corps; and Glenn Blumhorst, president of National Peace Corps Association—and a video tour of the installation.
Peace Corps 2.0: A Symposium - March 31, 2021
As we marked Peace Corps' 60th anniversary, panelists for this virtual event, all returned volunteers, reflected on Peace Corps today and explored roadmaps for dealing with the challenges ahead. They shared personal stories and candid reflections on their cross-cultural experiences in host communities around the world.