Currently On View

 

 

From Shangri-La to Tokyo: The Story of the Doolittle Raiders

April 18, 2023- April 30, 2025

 

One of the most compelling factors of the Doolittle Raid was the enormous amount of secrecy afforded to the mission. Despite the need of tests, training, and modifications made to the B-25s to be used on the mission, neither the airmen, nor the crew of the U.S.S. Hornet were aware of the intended target until just days before their arrival. This secrecy continued even after the raid’s conclusion.  Not wanting to alert the Japanese to the launch site of the raiders, the U.S. government would reveal limited information on the attack to the press. In order to evade the question from journalists, President Roosevelt would historically state that the B-25s took off from “Shangri-La,” a fictional city found in James Hilton’s novel, Lost Horizon. This exhibit will set this secrecy as its backbone, using it as major takeaway that will highlight the heroic undertakings of Lt. Colonel Doolittle and his crew of raiders. 

Two Minutes to Midnight and the Architecture of Armageddon

On Display thorough January 5th, 2025

Today, while the Cold War’s lessons and fears have largely faded from our collective memory, it is critical to view a decidedly uncertain present through the lens of the past.  Through two photographic essays, photographers Jeanine Michna-Bales and Adam Reynolds offer a calculated look at the “Architecture of Armageddon,” both the offensive and defensive implications of nuclear war.  These quiet architectural spaces, devoid of people, allow viewers to come face to face with present nuclear realities while also offering a look into the collective psyche of the American people during the Cold War.

This exhibition is aimed to spark curiosity and encourage discourse among audiences of all backgrounds as the works seek out places that are often hidden in plain sight.  Two Minutes to Midnight and the Architecture of Armageddon is organized by Exhibits USA, a program of the Mid-America Arts Alliance in Kansas City, MO.

 

 

 

Imagery and Irony: The Fight for Women's Suffrage through the Political Cartoons of Nina Allender

Nina Allender's political cartoons illustrated the fight for women's suffrage in ways that no other medium could. The battle for equality became accessible, tangible, funny and gut-wrenching through her art. From 1914 until her final cartoon appeared in 1927, Allender created more than 300 illustrations during the woman's suffrage campaign. This exhibit explores the power of those illustrations and their connections to government propaganda created to support World War I. 

Vietnam, America’s Conflict

Vietnam, America’s Conflict brings together the powerful photography of Jim Guy Tucker and Bruce Wesson, graduates of Little Rock's Hall High School class of 1961. The work of these two schoolmates captures the faces of men, women, and children learning first hand their own profound lessons of war. Using the portraits in this exhibit, Tucker and Wesson remind museum patrons of the reality of war. 

War and Remembrance

Learn how photos, letters, other memorabilia and events help us to understand the Civil War perspective through memory and time.