The exhibits open this month with each focusing on a different aspect of Parks’ photographic career. The exhibits are accompanied by a stellar list of workshops, forums, movie showings and receptions, plus a two-day forum Feb 12-13. All the programming is designed to expand on the legacy of this historical and contemporary relevance of Parks’ work.
The Wichita Art Museums will feature two exhibits devoted to Parks’ Legacy:
The Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University will have one exhibit:
Wichita State University purchased their first Parks pieces in 2008 when they acquired his papers for the WSU Library Special Collection. They have since quadrupled their collection, and the university now houses 177 of Parks’ photographs that span his entire career. The university has planned a full schedule of workshops and programs built around Parks’ legacy.
The Kansas African American Museum has an exhibit that focuses on Parks’ earlier work, featuring images from his work with the Farm Securities Administration :
The photos are from the summer of 1943 when Parks traveled north of Manhattan to photograph children and adults engaged in summer camps that brought together children, Black and white, to swim, work, play, and sing around the campfire. The images he captured that summer would have brought disdain, and even violent, but they reveal a glimmer of hope that many shared: people of different races can learn from one another and learn to enjoy one another.
Checkout these supporting workshops for the Ulrich Exhibit: