Like many museums across New York State, Seneca Art & Culture Center closed to the public on March 16 to protect staff and visitors from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Center is a 17,300 square foot building built in 2015 at Ganondagan State Historic Site to tell the story of Haudenosaunee contributions to art, culture, and society. The Center features an interactive, multimedia exhibition gallery, a changing exhibition space, orientation theatre, auditorium, and gift shop. While the hiking trails at Ganondagan State Historic Site remain open to the public, spring and summer programming have been either cancelled or rescheduled. The Seneca Bark Longhouse (a fully furnished longhouse designed to reflect a typical Seneca family from the 17th century) was scheduled to open on May 1, but for now, remains closed to the public. Since closing in mid-March, staff tasks and responsibilities shifted towards maintaining and increasing their social media presence while continuing to look ahead at reopening the Seneca Art & Culture Center post-COVID.
Virtual Programming
“We have always maintained our brand as an authentic voice that focused on history, culture and art,” said Michael Galban, Curator at the Seneca Art & Culture Center, Ganondagan State Historic Site. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, NYS museums have increased their social media use by 81% (MANY COVID-19 Impact Report). “Our approach was to get something out there in virtual space that would keep our supporters engaged and also provide authentic content. We can accomplish our mission through social media and continue to have open engagement with our supporters through our online presence,” said Galban. Across the museum sector in NYS, social media is the top engagement platform for museum audiences during the pandemic, almost 20% higher than online education materials.
As social media use increased, staff tasks and responsibilities were adjusted to help meet the digital demand. “We had focused quite a lot on social media prior to COVID-19 and fortunately we were already set up with a strategy to provide content and engage with visitation remotely,” said Galban. “This now became our top priority and the staff shifted all efforts online.”
Ganondagan utilized their strong Facebook platform to host daily live storytelling and “Ten Minute Teachings” with Peter Jeminson, Site Manager for Ganondagan State Historic Site. The storytelling sessions were hosted by Michael and Tonia Galban who for thirty days shared Seneca stories. “The storytelling sessions were my attempt at shifting focus for our public from a state of fear and panic to a consistent messaging from our ancestors,” said Galban. “I saw the quarantine period as an extended “wintertime” where historically people stayed indoors and was also the time when stories were shared and enjoyed.”
Ten-Minute Teachings, hosted twice a week on Wednesday and Fridays on Ganondagan’s Facebook page, about Seneca history, art, culture, and artifacts. These sessions are hosted by staff throughout the Seneca Art & Culture Building and have included topics on “The Three Sisters Garden,” “The Beaver Wars,” “Repatriation,” “The Creator’s Garden,” “Cradle Boards,” and more. These ten minute videos are easily digestible content and are a perfect example of adjusting to the new reality brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic to share stories and spaces virtually. “The response was tremendous initially,” commented Galban on the live storytelling and Ten-Minute Teachings. “We engaged with thousands of viewers but as the weeks wore on the engagement lost momentum. Modern internet culture focuses on novelty and what the next new thing is—so we have to reinvent our online presence accordingly.” Ganondagan has continued to produce Ten-Minute teaching videos on its Facebook page as well recently producing longer videos on different aspects of Seneca culture on YouTube.
Socially Distanced Outdoors
The Bark Longhouse originally scheduled to open for the season on May 1 has remained closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo from MANY Fall Meet-Up, September 4, 2019
Although the Seneca Art & Culture Center has been closed to the public since mid-March, Ganondagan’s three marked hiking trails have remained open: the “Trail of Peace” with signage that details Seneca history and oral traditions, the “Earth is Our Mother Trail” which identifies plants and explains how they are used by the Seneca, and the “Granary Trail” where visitors can experience a day in July though journal entries from the Denonville campaign (when a large French army led by the Governor of Canada attacked and destroyed the Seneca Village at Ganondagan). The public has increased their use of these outdoor spaces since the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing is still a priority. “We have implemented reduced parking strategies and limited picnic tables to help sponsor a spirit of social distancing,” said Galban. The site also uses prominent signage at trailheads and in the parking lots that help remind the public. “We don’t engage the public directly for infractions but can ask for help from the NYS Law Enforcement if the situation merits.”
Ganondagan State Historic Site is receiving updates from The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on safety protocols and procedures. Historic Sites are open across New York State but visitors are required to wear face coverings and maintain a safe social distance.
Re-Opening
Inside the main exhibition gallery
Museums have been categorized in Phase 4 in Governor Cuomo’s “Reopen New York” and many have been researching and reorganizing interpretation strategies for reopening their doors. “Our preparations are focused on fulfilling our mission of education without sacrificing the safety of our staff and patrons including plans to alter the visitor experience to provide that safety are being explored,” said Galban. Those plans to alter the visitor experience include plexiglass at the front desk, a guided one-way flow through the gallery, special floor signage to help enforce and maintain social distancing, additional hand sanitizing stations, personal social distancing monitors, body temperature checks, and exploring no-cash entry fees are all being considered.
As of mid-June, seven of New York’s REDC regions have entered into Phase three of a four-phase reopening process. Phase 4 is the final phase and will allow schools, arts, entertainment and recreational businesses to reopen which includes museums. The Finger Lakes (where the Seneca Art & Culture Center, Ganondagan State Historic Site’s region) will soon reach Phase 4—the final reopening phase which includes museums.
“At Ganondagan the initial worry was that we wouldn’t close to the public officially to protect the staff and not contribute to the spread of the virus,” said Michael Galban reflecting back on the immediate response that he and the staff had in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We knew something would happen in terms of policy but what would that be and how it would impact us was uncertain.”
The Seneca Art & Culture Center and Ganondagan State Historic Site typically sees 50,000 visitors a year divided between people who come to see the exhibits, participate in events, see the Bark Longhouse, and school groups. This number also includes visitors who explore the trails at Ganondagan. Since the Center has been closed, their online audience has reached thousands. Live Storytelling received 10,000 views total and Ten-Minute Teachings averages between 1,000 and 2,000 views per video. Staff plans to continue the Ten-Minute Teaching videos on their YouTube page after the reopening. “We want to continue with this series on our YouTube page and strengthen their quality,” said Galban. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the Center to close its doors, it found a way to engage with existing and new audiences online.
Learn more about Ganondagan State Historic Sites virtual programming by visiting their Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/Ganondagan/
Explore more on Ganondagan’s YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoLxS8-0iiqe6yhmcyrGzQg
For more resources on reopening museums, visit: https://nysmuseums.org/COVID19resources#reopening
