As Texas’ largest history museum, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is a sprawling assemblage of artifacts and exhibits that explore the region’s exciting tales of weaponry, transportation and paleontology. Through permanent exhibits, visitors can learn about the petroleum industry in the Panhandle region, see an extensive Southwest art collection and check out the new, built-from-the-ground-up Pioneer Town, representing 1890 to 1910.
In October the museum’s “Undressing Suffrage” exhibit will launch in concurrence with the upcoming 19th amendment ratification anniversary. It will tell of the historical development of women’s rights in the U.S. through garments of the time period.
“I am really excited about our Women’s Suffrage exhibit in our textile gallery because it is so unique and a different take from your usual historical exhibition,” says Stephanie Price, the museum’s communications and marketing director. “In my opinion, and from almost seven years in the industry, the most appealing exhibits are those that form a connection with the audience and are timely to what is being discussed in our communities and cultures.”
One of the exhibit’s co-curators, Darby Reiners, says they work to recognize diversity in their communities and add those stories to their historical narratives to better connect and represent them.
“Our suffrage exhibit is intended to discuss … the growth in diversity of the women’s rights movement as a whole over just these last few decades,” she says. “We currently have a museum app that provides additional information throughout our permanent exhibits, and we are evaluating digital interactives for the suffrage exhibit. We want our visitors to see themselves in the narrative.”
Price says the museum’s exhibits typically stay six months to a year after they’re curated in-house. They also must consider the artifacts on display.
“For instance, textiles, even in our permanent exhibitions, must be changed out every nine months to a year, as textiles are heavily affected by light,” Reiners says.
The team lays out the museum’s exhibit calendar at least two years in advance. With the 2018 Pop Culture exhibit, which focused on popular culture influences from the 1950s through the 2000s, curators began work in 2015 to develop content, interactives, loans from other museums and layouts.
“In some ways it is a daunting task to think about what will be exciting or interesting to visitors three years into the future, and I think that’s where the creativity in our exhibition team is really exciting,” Reiners says.
For more information, contact Price or go to panhandleplains.org.
Photos by Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
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