Traveling Exhibition Services
The Michigan State University Museum has developed this Traveling Exhibition Service to make the results of its extensive research, collections, and educational programs accessible to a wider audience.
Contacts:
Traveling Exhibition Service Coordinator
Michigan State University Museum
East Lansing, MI 48824-1045
Phone: 517.432.0699
E-mail: frenchve@msu.edu
- Ahmed "Kathy" Kathrada: A South African Activist for Non-Racialism and Democracy
- Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela
- Dear Mr. Mandela....Dear Mrs. Parks: Children's Letters, Global Lessons
- Images of Human Rights: South African Prints
- Siyazama: Traditional Arts, Education, and AIDS in South Africa
- Quilting Sisters: African-American Quiltmaking in Michigan
- Unpacking Collections: The Legacy of Cuesta Benberry, An African American Quilt Scholar
- Welcome to Idlewild: The Black Eden of Michigan
- America’s Fairs: Educating Communitites
- Fairtime: America's Fairs, Horse Racing and Livestock
- Horse Racing and Early FairTime Entertainment
- Livestock Heritage: Serving a Nation
- Michigan Eats: Regional Culture Through Food
- Michigan Heritage Barns: An Artist’s Perspective
- Storytelling Through the Mail: Tall Tale Postcards
- The Unauthorized Audubon...a conversation in prints and poetry
- A Community Between Two Worlds: Arab Americans in Greater Detroit
- Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela
- Immigration and Caricature: Ethnic Images from the Appel Collection
- Quilts of Southwest China
- Uneasy Years: Michigan Jewry During Depression and War
- Ahmed "Kathy" Kathrada: A South African Activist for Non-Racialism and Democracy
- Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela
- Dear Mr. Mandela....Dear Mrs. Parks: Children's Letters, Global Lessons
- Images of Human Rights: South African Prints
- The International Print Portfolio: Artists’ Expressions of Universal Human Rights
- Quilts and Human Rights
- Siyazama: Traditional Arts, Education, and AIDS in South Africa
- A Community Between Two Worlds: Arab Americans in Greater Detroit
- Campus and Community: MSU's Land-Grant Tradition of Community-Engaged Action
- Great Lakes Native Quilting
- The Mary Schafer Collection: A Legacy of Quilt History
- Michigan Eats: Regional Culture Through Food
- Michigan Folksong Legacy: Grand Discoveries from the Great Depression
- Michigan Heritage Barns: An Artist’s Perspective
- Michigan Quilt Project Blocks
- MSU American Indian Heritage Pow Wow Portraits: Photographs by Douglas Elbinger
- Rags, Rugs and Weavers: A Living Tradition
- Uneasy Years: Michigan Jewry During Depression and War
- Welcome to Idlewild: The Black Eden of Michigan
- Great Lakes Native Quilting
- MSU American Indian Heritage Pow Wow Portraits: Photographs by Douglas Elbinger
- To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions
- To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions (interpretive panel version)
- Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela
- Great Lakes Native Quilting
- The Mary Schafer Collection: A Legacy of Quilt History
- Michigan Quilt Project Blocks
- Quilting Sisters: African-American Quiltmaking in Michigan
- Quilts and Human Rights
- Quilts of Southwest China
- Quilts Old and New: Reproductions from the Great Lakes Quilt Center
- Rags, Rugs and Weavers: A Living Tradition
- Redwork: A Textile Tradition in America
- To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions
- To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions (interpretive panel version)
- Unpacking Collections: The Legacy of Cuesta Benberry, An African American Quilt Scholar
By
exhibit (or date):
Mariposa Museum and World Cultural Center, Peterborough, NH
April 15 - July 5, 2018
To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditons
Stauth Memorial Museum, Montezuma, KS
July 7 - September 30, 2018
By Date (or exhibit):
Opens 2018
April 15 - July 5, 2018
Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela
Mariposa Museum and World Cultural Center, Peterborough, NH
July 7 - September 30, 2018
To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions
Stauth Memorial Museum, Montezuma, KS
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Nelson Mandela's prison mate, confidante, parliamentary counselor and friend Ahmed Kathrada is the subject of a new nationally touring exhibition. "Ahmed 'Kathy' Kathrada: A South African Activist for Non-Racialism and Democracy tells the story of the renowned advocate for freedom, as well as the anti-apartheid movement itself through the life and work of South Africa's beloved "Kathy." Kathy's exemplary leadership continues to inspire South Africans and others around the world to work for freedom, non-racialism, and democracy.
America's agricultural fairs focused on educating farmers and their families and in doing so created a continuing annual American tradition. Reproductions of artworks, created between 1880 - 1920 to promote county and state fairs, illustrate the emergence of a unique educational fair in America where competition was the vehicle to inform and to inspire, strengthening a national industry--agriculture. 
In 2013 the world mourned the passing of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, one of its most revered champions of human rights. Mandela provided a moral compass for how we treat each other, how we lead our own lives, and how we need to continue to strive for a just, fair, non-racial, and democratic society. 
Created by the staffs of the MSU Museum and the Nelson Mandela Museum along with other MSU faculty, staff and students and community members in South Africa and Michigan, "Dear Mr. Mandela, Dear Mrs. Parks: Children's Letters, Global Lessons" is an exhibit of letters written by children from all over the world to human rights leaders Nelson Mandela and the late Rosa Parks The exhibition first opened at the Nelson Mandela National Museum in Mthatha, South Africa. Two traveling versions of the exhibitions are now traveling, one each in South Africa and the United States. The exhibition includes video-taped welcoming comments from three Nobel Prize awardees: President Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and President Obama and each venue is encouraged to provide letter writing stations where visitors of all ages can write letters to Parks, Mandela, or people that they feel have made a change in their lives, their communities, or the world. 
The inspiration for "Dear Mr. Mandela.....Dear Mrs. Parks" came from the hundreds of children around the world who have written letters to two individuals--Nelson Mandela of South Africa and the late Rosa Parks of the United States--who are internationally known for their work in human rights. The letters reveal why children revere Mandela and Parks and also how young people's desires for guidance and understanding about life.
"The exhibit also encourages visitors - especially youth -- to understand and be tolerant of diverse cultures and traditions, become aware of the ongoing struggle for human rights around the world, and recognize ways to honor individuals in their own families and communities who--like Mandela and Parks--have contributed, in large and small ways, to making a better world," notes MSU Museum curator, C. Kurt Dewhurst, one of the exhibit's organizers.
"It was an honor to host this powerful and provocative exhibit." 
Throughout the world art has long been used as a tool for cultural, social, and economic change. In South Africa many educators and activists used performing and visual arts in the successful anti-apartheid movement. Now arts are being used there to educate individuals about the realities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This exhibition explores how traditional knowledge and skills are used to address contemporary issues in South Africa. It showcases the Siyazama (Zulu for "we are trying") Project, an arts education project based in KwaZulu Natal which uses traditional crafts to raise awareness about AIDS.
This exhibition has been displayed at the Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI; The African American Performing Arts Center, Albuquerque, NM; Institute for Community Research, Hartford, CT; the Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL; and Mathers Museum of World Cultures, Bloomington, IN.
This exhibition of fifteen quilts from the Michigan State University Museum's extensive textile collections represents the diversity of quilting traditions found within historical and contemporary African-American communities in Michigan. From very conservative to highly innovative styles, the quilts reflect these themes: 1) records of patterns of migration and settlement; 2) expressions or documents of ethnic identity; 3) quilters as artists/quilts as art; 4) documents of personal, family, and community history; and 5) quilting traditions. The inclusion of photographic portraits of individual quilters taken by Kalamazoo-based artist Mary Whalen and excerpts from taped interviews make this exhibition a truly enriching experience.
This exhibit features the textile collections of the late Cuesta Benberry, one of the twentieth-centuries pioneers of research on American quiltmaking and the forerunner of research on African American quiltmaking.
Benberry had a long association with the MSU Museum, the home of the 
Schedule
"Great Display! Very informative. I know a lot more about Idlewild than before."
Idlewild, located in rural northwestern Michigan, holds a special place in the nation's segregated history. For many years, this "Black Eden" was one of only a few resorts in the country where African-Americans could vacation and purchase property. From 1912 through the mid-1960s, Idlewild was an active year-round community and was visited by well-known entertainers and professionals from throughout the country. At its peak it was the most popular resort in the Midwest and as many as 25,000 would come to Idlewild in the height of the summer season to enjoy camping, swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, roller skating and night-time entertainment. When the 1964 Civil Rights Act opened up other resorts to African-Americans, Idlewild's boomtown period subsided but the community continues to be an important place for vacationers and retirees. Idlewild also holds special meaning as a place for younger generations of African-Americans seeking to learn about their heritage.
FairTime! is a combination of three exhibits from The Fair Publishing House collection. America's Fairs Educating Communities, Livestock Heritage Serving A Nation and Horse Racing An Early FairTime Entertainment can be rented individally or you can host the full story with FairTime! America's agricultural fairs focused on educating farmers and their families and in doing so created a continuing annual American tradition. Reproductions of artworks, created between 1880 - 1920 to promote county and state fairs, illustrate the emergence of a unique educational fair in America where competition was the vehicle to inform and to inspire, strengthening a national industry--agriculture. 
Historically, county fairs were one of the few places to see horse racing. Before the midway gained prominence, fireworks displays, balloon ascensions, acrobatic performances, air shows and horse racing were early entertainment featured at fairs. Connections between fairs and racing continue today with tracks at some fairgrounds and revenues from racing supporting youth programs and fair premiums. Horse Racing is the third exhibition in the FairTime! series, which features reproductions of the stunning turn-of-the-century art from The Fair Publishing House, Inc. (Norwalk, Ohio). It explores the historical developments of entertainment at agricultural fairs with a focus on horse racing.
Fairs have always been a change agent, shaping agricultural products and refining the techniques that create them. Early fairs were a particularly useful tool for livestock breeders, inspiring and challenging them to improve the quality and quantity of our food supply. Animal agriculture has continuously evolved to meet the changing needs of the nation and world. The story of animal agriculture goes beyond food to clothing, medical advances, pharmaceuticals and recreation. Livestock Heritage is the second exhibition in the FairTime! series, featuring reproductions of The Fair Publishing House, Inc. (Norwalk, Ohio) collection of turn-of-the-century fair poster art. This exhibition helps to foster an awareness of the role of fairs in the changing field of livestock agriculture.
"The library gained so much- publicity, new connections with members of the community and local organizations, and new ventures into programming that will guide the library's long range planning."
"Nice cross section of Michigan barns and presentation."
"I did not realize this was such an extensive 'art form.' It was great to learn about this tall tale 'art' of the past."
The Unauthorized Audubon is a conversation in prints and poetry, a quirky and light-hearted coupling of creative expression between two Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) faculty members on the Michigan State University campus. Birds provide the inspiration for the imagery and verses.
Laura B. DeLind holds a joint appointment in the Department of Anthropology and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at MSU. Trained as an anthropologist and critical food-system analyst, she also is a working graphic artist. She has been designing linocuts and hand pulling prints for over thirty years. Her prints sell nationally, appear in permanent art collections, and have been turned into logos and rubber stamps. Laura has had several one woman shows, but the Unauthorized Audubon, a series of 22 poems and prints done with poet Anita Skeen, is her first artistic collaboration. 
"Interesting display depicting both realities and conceived realities of the attitudes faced by immigrants—provoking." 
In southwest China, traditional bed coverings and other household items have often been made, like American quilts, of small pieces of fabric that are patched and appliquéd together to form artistic, functional textiles. A bi-national consortium of American and Chinese museums, led by the Michigan State University Museum and the Yunan Nationalities Museum (Kunming), has conducted research on this important element of intangible and tangible cultural heritage tradition Now this groundbreaking exhibition provides American audiences with a glimpse into the historical and contemporary practice of this Chinese textile art.
This exhibition explores the dilemmas of Michigan Jews during Depression and WWII, at once increasingly at home in Michigan and the US, yet anxious amidst depression and rising anti-Semitism in the US, and the rise of Nazism, terror, and the war abroad. Five themes include:
In the modern, human-dominated world, a wide variety of pests threaten our environment, agriculture, and health, and must be controlled. Part of the strategy for controlling pests is the use of chemicals that kill or reduce the numbers of the pest; and 50 years ago, a publication alerted the people of the world to potential dangers in pesticide use. This book was Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson and published in 1962. The MSU Museum revisits the publication of this landmark book, credited with launching the modern environmental movement.
On December 19, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a list of human rights it believed all countries in the world should respect. Many countries in the world have based their own Bills of Rights on the UDHR. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UDHR and to raise awareness of human rights issues, the Artists for Human Rights Trust (Durban, South Africa) published the International Print Portfolio that is featured in this exhibition. The Portfolio is made up of monochrome wood/linocut prints illustrating various articles of the UDHR. Artists from 25 countries that participated in the project, including Iran, Cuba, South Africa, India, Mozambique and Tibet. The works are striking in the variety of artistic styles they portray, as well as in their emotional and sometimes disturbing subject matter. Each artist brings a unique national and political perspective to issues of human rights that are still being faced globally today.
This exhibition examines the ways in which textiles - especially quilts - have been made and used to demonstrate solidarity with movements dedicated to advancing international human rights, to mark important events related to human rights activism, to provide vehicles for the expression of feelings and memories about human rights violations, and to engage individuals in actions that will solve human rights issues.
Rental fee (12-week period): 
"I urge our nation's best universities to join in the journey to reaffirm and to extend beyond our borders the core values of the Morrill Act as the fuel and inspiration for higher education's engagement with a global society in the century ahead."--Dr. LouAnna K. Simon, President, Michigan State University, 2012.
Great Lakes Native Quilting is the first exhibition devoted to North American Indian quilting in the Great Lakes region. Organized by curator of folk arts Marsha MacDowell, the exhibit grew out of work for the Michigan State University Museum's previous major national research and exhibition project on Native quiltmaking in North America and Hawaii. This exhibit examines the historical introduction of quilting as well as the contemporary use and meaning of quilts made by Oneida, Odawa, Potawatomi, Ojibwa, and Mohawk quiltmakers living in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, and Ontario. It showcases the diversity of Native quiltmaking and pays tribute to the artists who continue to work in this expressive cultural medium. The sixteen quilts included in the exhibit are primarily drawn from the Michigan State University Museum collection with additional loans from other private and public collections. The exhibit also includes photographs of quilters and quilting activities, biographical sketches of contemporary quilters, explanatory text panels, and four contextual settings which visually demonstrate the uses of quilts in Great Lakes Native communities, both historically and today. 
Born in Austria-Hungary in 1910 and later immigrating to the United States, Mary Schafer would become one of an important group of women who kept quilting and quilt studies alive between World War II and the 1970s revival of interest in quilts. A resident of Michigan for most of her life, she has long been recognized as one of the forerunners of quilt studies as well as the developer of one of the most important quilt history collections in the country. This exhibition traces the life and work of a unique individual, whose passion for an art form has contributed greatly to its survival. The quilts featured in "A Legacy of Quilt History" reflect the varying aspects of Mary's interests and work, from nineteenth century quilts she collected to more recent works she has designed herself and often collaborated on with other quilters. These intricate and colorful creations are supplemented with biographical information that draws from Mary's collection of her own letters and other ephemera, recently acquired by the Michigan State University Museum. The result is an often very personal expression of Mary Schafer's work, friendships and her lifelong efforts "to raise in popular esteem" the appreciation of quilts and their history. 
Michigan Folksong Legacy: Grand Discoveries from the Great Depression
Alan Lomax's Michigan Legacy
"It was a great addition to our quilt show. As a matter of fact the blocks received 3 votes for viewers choice." —C.A.M.E.O. Quilt Guild, West Bloomfield, MI 
30 oversized quilt blocks ready for hanging with accompanying object labels. The blocks include ones related to Michigan history and its cultural and natural resources. 
Historically, photographers have made posed, studio portraits of American Indians dressed in traditional clothing. These historical photographs provide an important record of aspects of tribal history. However, these portraits do not always accurately reflect information about the individual or the culture. The photographs within this exhibition offer a rare opportunity to see American Indians dressed in contemporary traditional regalia. Photographer Douglas Elbinger has been recognized as a leading source for the copy and restoration of historic photographs. He has worked with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Archives, as well as many other museums and historic societies across the country. 
"This exhibit is of superb quality and has met our needs to support and promote the art of different ethnic backgrounds for our annual Festival of International Cultures. 
"If not for MSU [Museum's] work, most of our constituency would not have had the opportunity to be exposed to such culturally significant objects."
Of the many North American Indian expressive art forms, perhaps one of the least well known is quiltmaking. This exhibition celebrates quilting within diverse communities and pays homage to the artists who have expressed their cultural heritage and creativity through this art. It examines how quilts and quilting-the ceremonies surrounding them, the society of the artists who make them, and the passing on of traditions through quilts- bind neighbors and families within and across generations.
The Michigan State University Museum/Great Lakes Quilt Center is home to over 500 quilts of unusually rich ethnic and artistic diversity. Recently the collection has been showcased in the book, Great Lakes, Great Quilts (C&T Publishing, 2001). Included in the publication were patterns to reproduce twelve quilts based on quilts in the Museum's collection. Eleven of the reproduction quilts created from these patterns are showcased in this exhibit. These reproduction quilts represent a variety of patterns produced from the nineteenth century to the 1980s, highlighting the breadth of the collection. 
The exhibit explores the history and art of Redwork, a needlework technique that was especially popular in the United States between the 1880s and the 1920s. Redwork is a style of decorative needlework that consists of embroidering the outline of designs onto a white or off-white backgroung with a contrasting color of thread. Red thread is typically used in this style because the red color contrasts well against a light background. Also, during the nineteenth century when the style first became popular, artists could obtain a red thread that was "colorfast", meaning that the red coloring would not wash out or "bleed" onto the white fabric.