The University District Museum Without Walls project took another step forward last night with a public presentation on the state of the project.

The project seeks to present the history of the University District and inspire thought about the present and future of the neighborhood.

During the year and a half of gestation, Museum Without Walls has taken many strides along the path to becoming a reality.

“In November 2008, we’ve landed on a couple of specific projects that will actually happen,” said Layla Taylor, exhibit and programs project coordinator for Museum Without Walls. “The first thing that we will be doing in April will be an exhibit on social activism in the University District from the ’60s up until the present. Then, we will be holding a few programs around an oral history project that’s also happening.”

The University District Arts and Heritage Committee is made up of U-District residents and other local citizens who have come together to document the history of the area.

“The [committee] is where this all started and has been really spearheaded, I think, by a number of dedicated volunteers,” said Peggy Weiss, cultural planner for the committee. “Citizens and residents came together some time ago to start thinking about ways for this community to celebrate and commemorate moments in its history and important people in the U-District’s history. They also came together to figure out ways to support new projects and new activities that would continue to bring the community together around arts and cultural events.”

The Museum Without Walls project is the culmination of their efforts thus far. Unlike most museum exhibitions, however, the project will not be installed inside a museum or, in fact, a building of any sort.

“The committee really liked this idea of doing a temporary exhibition and a series of exhibitions that would tell the story of the University District in a variety of ways,” Weiss said. “The exhibition you’re going to hear about tonight is sort of the centerpiece of the project.”

Naturally, the University District has had a long and full history.

To cover all of it in one exhibition would be far beyond the means of the committee, so they decided to focus on the history of community activism in the U-District. Museum Without Walls will be a temporary installation to be first displayed in the outdoor plaza around the UW Tower. Photos, documents and posters from the ’60s until the present will be on display, documenting the history of activism through the years.

“The committee has decided to make this exhibit about the history of activism in the University District,” said Julia Swan, a member of the committee. “We felt like activism was the most important part of the University District’s history. I just wanted to emphasize that the point of the exhibit is to tell a story about the past, but also to inspire people to think about the present and future.”

The next Museum Without Walls community meeting will take place in February.

Reach reporter Anthony Michael Erickson at news@dailyuw.com.