LEWISTON — Museum L-A’s newest exhibit, “Rivers of Immigration: Peoples of the Androscoggin,” explores the immigrant experience in the Twin Cities from the mid-1800s to today. More than 350 people gathered at Museum L-A recently for the opening of the exhibit and a multicultural sharing of food and music.

Guests
sampled French-Canadian, Greek, Irish and Somali food while taking in
the multi-media exhibit. The second floor of Bates Mill 1, which was
once filled with working looms, was alive with music and dance.
French-Canadian music and dance was followed by the Somali Bantu
community demonstrating a traditional dance.

“People are discovering that even though the individual stories are different, there are many common themes,” said Rachel Desgrosseilliers, Museum L-A’s executive director. “This exhibit is becoming a bridge between cultures,” she said, “it is beautiful to see members of the Somali community and local natives talking together and sharing information about their customs and heritage.”

Museum visitors are also adding their own stories of immigration to the exhibit through an Interactive Writing Wall. The once-blank wall is now nearly full of writings in English, Polish, Somali, German, French, Gaelic and other languages.

Collaborating with the museum for the exhibit are Anne Kemper, counselor/coordinator of the Lewiston Adult Education Adult Learning Center and Catherine Besteman, professor of anthropology at Colby College, as well as members and leaders of the local Somali Bantu community.

“Rivers of Immigration” will be available to visit through next summer. Visitors to Museum L-A will also experience “Portraits & Voices: Brickyard Roads,” featuring the brickyards of Lewiston-Auburn and the people who worked in them, and the second-floor gallery with select artifacts from the Twin Cities’ textile and shoe manufacturers.

Museum L-A is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and located at 35 Canal St. in the Bates Mill Complex. Admission price is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. For more information, call 333-3881, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.museumla.org.