Untitled (young woman looking at poster advertising hayride inside school) 1955 - 1957

Editor: This photograph by Martin Schweig shows a young woman looking at a poster advertising a hayride. It feels like a glimpse into a very specific moment in time, like a still from a movie. What strikes you about this image? Curator: The image speaks volumes about the institutional role of schools in shaping social life. Note the poster's amateur design; it reflects a communal effort to foster social bonds. Who was included, and who was excluded from the hayride, and who got to make the poster? Editor: So, you're saying the poster itself, and who made it, might reveal underlying social dynamics? Curator: Precisely! The everyday imagery becomes a powerful lens to examine the politics of belonging and the mechanics of community formation within the school. Editor: That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered. I will definitely look closer at these types of ephemera moving forward.