Sifting and Reckoning: How UW–Madison’s Past Can Inform a Brighter Future on Campus

In this special episode of GridgeFridge, we dig into the behind-the-scenes work of the Sifting and Reckoning exhibit – the culmination of a years-long research project examining the history of discrimination and exclusion at UW–Madison.

Produced over two months, this narrative-style episode features voices across campus, including Public History Project Director Kacie Lucchini Butcher and Assistant Director Taylor Bailey. Listeners will learn about the difficult decisions and intricate research that went into uncovering stories for the Sifting and Reckoning exhibit. For years, many of these stories have remained buried in the archives and obscured in the university’s past.

In addition to exploring the exhibit’s complicated curation process, listeners will hear directly from students about what they think of the project and where the university must go from here. Through the voices of past and present Badgers, we critically examine the university’s history and look forward to how we can make campus a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

The Sifting and Reckoning exhibit is open at the Chazen Museum of Arts until Dec. 23, 2022. Admission to the exhibit and the rest of the museum is free.