Project of Sophia Cuneo, Ashley Lauterbach and Jada White
The Alonzo Herndon Exhibition: Atlanta Life and The Herndon Legacy
Proposal
We plan to design an exhibit on the second floor of the Honors College that showcases the life of Alonzo Herndon, his family and the Atlanta Life Insurance Company.
The exhibit will begin with viewers encountering a large, wall-sized photograph of Alonzo Herndon and his barbershop, in order to initially capture what Alonzo represented, and the great success he acquired. The guests of the exhibit will then see a timeline that is spread across the floor beside the wall, which will document Alonzo’s time as a slave, the date of his marriage with his wife Adrienne, the date that the Atlanta Life Insurance Company was formed, and other dates that show major importance in his life. While walking through this timeline, people will be able to see photos mounted on the wall that show the Herndon family, the various barbershops Alonzo owned, and images of the insurance company. Each photo will be accompanied by short captions, which will allow people to view each image and read them in the order that they wish.
By the end of the exhibit, we will want to focus on the insurance company, and contrast it with what remains of the legacy. To do this, we hope to have “then and now” photos of the structures to put into perspective how historical the actual location of the exhibit is. Throughout the exhibit at various points, we will have cardboard cutouts of Alonzo, Adrienne, and their son Norris. We plan for the exhibit to allow guests to feel that they are stepping into the Herndon’s home itself, and surround everyone who enters with the rich history of the Herndon Family that must live on.
Gallery
