The Watkins Museum of History will host a traveling exhibition of photography documenting Underground Railroad locations alongside a supplemental display highlighting local sites.
“Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad” features four dozen photos from photographer and author Jeanine Michna-Bales examining sites along the Underground Railroad.
Michna-Bales “spent more than a decade meticulously researching fugitive enslaved people and the ways they escaped to freedom,” according to a news release. The Underground Railroad was an expansive network encompassing countless square miles, and her work in the exhibition focuses on 2,000 miles of those paths to freedom.
“Through Darkness to Light” is organized by ExhibitsUSA, a program of the Mid-America Arts Alliance. It will be free to view from Tuesday, April 7 through Monday, May 25 in the first-floor Community Gallery and Community Room at the Watkins, 1047 Massachusetts St.
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The museum is always free to visitors and is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
The Watkins has a supplemental exhibit in the second-floor alcove highlighting spots in Douglas and Shawnee counties connected to the Underground Railroad.
“Grover Barn, Miller House, Constitution Hall in Topeka, and a privately-owned property near Willow Springs with circumstantial evidence of Underground Railroad activity are featured,” per the release.
The exhibit, called “The Underground Railroad in Our Community,” is currently on view through Saturday, May 30.
“The Watkins Museum is proud to share these compelling photographs with our community,” said Andrew Stockmann, curator of exhibitions. “During America’s 250th anniversary year, it is doubly important that organizations like the Watkins tell a complete picture of American history. Jeanine Michna-Bales’ work also allows the museum to showcase the rich Underground Railroad history in our local area.”
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