contributor

• Lindsay Kistler Mattock   Fortepan.usis an open source archival platform that is inspiring cultural heritage institutions to rethink and revolutionize digital archiving practices. Because Fortepan.us is designed as a "digital first" archive, we have been liberated to think differently about the structure and display of photographs online. In building the prototype, Fortepan Iowa, we focused on curated high-resolution photos taken by ordinary Iowans over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We work with families, public libraries, and museums to build an alternative public history of Iowa based on family snapshots and everyday moments. Our Iowa prototype aims to represent the personal, whimsical, poetic, significant, and accidentally artistic moments of everyday Iowa life, and tell a rich story of the state's overlooked diversity and complexity.   2022