Restoring the Erasure of Mary Godfrey's Legacy Through Wayfaring

Transforming the Sisters Godfrey Collection (SGC) from a passion to a business has been challenging for me. I struggled to identify my target market, understand their needs, and how to meet them. Feeling frustrated, I decided to keep SGC as a hobby, despite my instincts that there was more under the surface.

I had a shift in thinking during my 40th reunion at Wellesley College when I attended the Wellesley Alumnae of African Descent (WAAD) celebration and visited the "Both/And" exhibition, featuring Lorraine O'Grady, a 1955 Wellesley graduate. Her donated archives inspired me to revisit the story of my great-aunt, Mary Godfrey.

Discussing my struggles with a trusted business owner friend, I was advised not to give up, as it could take years to understand the direction I may need to pursue. 

Lorraine O'Grady's story helped me see a parallel with Aunt Mary's career, which inspired me to re-read “Mary E. Godfrey (1913-2007): Penn State's First African American Full-Time Faculty Member, by Ann Holt, PhD, Penn State University.

Holt described how Aunt Mary’s contribution to art education had been reduced to a 3 x 5 card in the PSU archives and noted the accomplishments of women and people in marginalized groups being overlooked or diminished over time. I reached out to Dr. Holt on LinkedIn and expressed my interest in learning more about her research on Aunt Mary. 

Dr. Holt and I recognized that we could collaborate to fill gaps on both sides. I could provide additional information, documents, or artifacts related to Aunt Mary and the Godfrey family to help expand Dr. Holt's research and I could learn from her to fill my gaps in knowledge about art and art education that I think is key in moving forward with my business.

Through continued research, conversation, and connection-building -- a research technique called wayfaring -- there is an opportunity to bring new insights and recognition to Mary Godfrey's life and work. By uncovering and sharing her story, we can help address the historical erasure of significant figures in art education and ensure their legacies are preserved for future generations. This knowledge will help to inspire and inform my business venture. 

Cover image shared by Ann Holt, PhD. The image is a flyer for the art education history graduate course which demonstrates how Mary Godfrey continues to inspire her teaching and archival research for and with graduate students in art education at Penn State.