Norton, KS-- Norton County Arts Council in Norton is hosting “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition. “Crossroads” will be in Norton from May 1, 2021 to June 13, 2021, at the Historic Heaton Building in the Gloria Nelson Cultural Arts Center located at 112 S Kansas Avenue. The “Crossroads” Kansas tour is sponsored by Humanities Kansas in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program.
Norton County Arts Council will build on the photographs, hands-on activities, and audio and video clips provided by the Smithsonian in the “Crossroads” exhibition to tell the history and culture of local rural life in Kansas and spark conversations about our state’s future.
“Crossroads” tours six Kansas communities in 2020-2021. Other Smithsonian hosts include Bowlus Fine Arts Center/Allen County Historical Society, Iola; 5.4.7 Arts Center, Greensburg; Kauffman Museum, North Newton; Independence Public Library/Independence Historical Museum and Art Center; and The Volland Store, Alma.
“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,“ said Julie Mulvihill, executive director of Humanities Kansas. “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.”
In addition to the six sites hosting the Smithsonian, eight communities will create their own exhibitions and programming to explore what it means to live rural in the 21st century, the relationship between rural, suburban, and urban, and the progress and persistence needed by communities of all sizes to thrive. Participating communities include Ellinwood, Hays, Lebanon, Colby, El Dorado, Council Grove, Onaga, and Olathe.
Humanities Kansas sponsors the “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” initiative in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program, a one-of-a-kind cultural project that serves small towns and residents of rural communities. To learn more about the “Crossroads” statewide tour visit humanitieskansas.org.
For more information about “Crossroads” in Norton contact the Norton County Arts Council at 785-877-0810 or visit www.facebook.com/nortoncountyartscouncil/.