Hundreds of photos documenting the earliest days of Allen County, are being prepared for an upcoming Smithsonian Institution Exhibit.
The Mary L. Martin Art Gallery and Creitz Recital Hall will serve as the starting point for “Smithsonian Crossroads: Change in Rural America Exhibit,” which runs Aug. 29 through Oct. 10.
The exhibit offers small towns a chance to look at events that affected their fortunes — for good or ill — over the past century.
It includes programming to prompt discussions about what happened when America’s rural population became a minority of the country’s population and the ripple effects that occurred.
The exhibit covers themes such as identity, land, community, persistence and managing change with photographs, hands-on activities, and audio and video clips provided by the Smithsonian.
Iola is one of six Kansas communities to host the traveling exhibition, along with Alma, Greensburg, Independence, North Newton and Norton.
Locally, the visit is being spearheaded by the Allen County Historical Society, with assistance from Thrive Allen County, Angela Henry of SAFE BASE and the Bowlus. Henry, Donna Houser and Diana Asher were at the Bowlus Monday morning to begin the arduous task of labeling and posting pictures in the art gallery.
The Smithsonian exhibit will be set up in the Creitz Recital Hall.
“Through a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program, Humanities Kansas is able to bring the resources of the nation’s premier cultural institution to Kansas,” Julie Mulvihill, executive director of Humanities Kansas, said in a press release. “The six communities were selected because of the inspired plans provided by local organizations to use the national exhibition as a springboard to explore local stories of innovation and adaptation.”
