What is the goal of this project?

Hoboken, like so many other communities, is learning to adapt to the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis. Here at the Hoboken Historical Museum, we are hoping to document the impact on our community in real time, using crowd sourcing, in addition to our own collections efforts. While we can’t possibly preserve everything, we are interested in collecting as many different stories, interviews, images, audio files, and videos as we can, as quickly as possible. Over time, our goal is to collect objects, oral histories, artistic responses, and more for a retrospective exhibit at a future date, much like our Superstorm Sandy exhibit in 2013.

Via this website, we will be accepting your digital contributions throughout the COVID-19 health crisis. As we go along, we are hoping to share examples of these submissions here and on the @HobokenMuseum social media accounts. Ultimately, a representative sampling of submitted materials will be preserved in the Hoboken Historical Museum collections for future generations.

What is the Face Mask Art Project?

The Hoboken Historical Museum is inviting all Hudson County artists to transform standard disposable face masks into one-of-a-kind artworks and submit them to the Museum for an upcoming exhibition: “Every Mask a Blank Canvas.” Artists should use the standard disposable face masks found at most drug stores, and may submit more than one entry. One work of face mask art will be selected to win a $250 prize.

Submissions should be signed by the artist, accompanied by contact information and an optional artist’s statement about the work, and mailed to the Hoboken Historical Museum, P.O. Box 3296, Hoboken, NJ 07030. All masks must be postmarked by June 15, 2020. There is no cost to enter the contest. The masks will become part of the Museum's collections and may be included in the upcoming exhibition. For more information email director@hobokenmuseum.org.

Artists who are active on social media are encouraged to share photos of themselves or a friend wearing the mask and tag the Museum, @HobokenMuseum, using the hashtag #EveryMaskABlankCanvas.

Who can submit information?

Any Hoboken resident is welcome to submit their stories, images, audio files and videos. Our goal is to collect a diverse sampling of the experiences of people from across our community.

Who can request an oral history interview?

Any Hoboken resident can request an oral history interview. Our staff and volunteers may not be able to answer all requests, but we'll try.

What happens to my information?

By submitting information, you agree to allow the Museum to add it to our archives for future generations to research and read. Not all material will be displayed. The Museum will NOT share contact information externally.