Art That Worked: WPA Art in Newton, 1935-1943

Exhibition dates:
September 8, 2013 - January 5, 2014

Art That Worked celebrates Newton’s impressive collection of work from the Kansas Museum Project, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) program. This statewide education initiative trained unemployed artists and created a visual art education collection for use in schools, libraries and museums across Kansas.

Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum: 3:30 pm, free

•  October 13: “Art Born of the Great Depression: Newton’s Mennonite Settler and Roosevelt’s New Deal” by Reinhild K. Janzen, art historian

•  November 17: “Federal Theatre Project: A Grand Experiment” with Berneil Rupp Mueller, coordinator

•  January 5:  Gallery Walk with John Thiesen, Mennonite Library & Archives, Rachel Epp Buller, Bethel College Art Department

Exhibit team:
Laurel Woodward: exhibition interpretation and design
John D. Thiesen: research
Rachel Pannabecker: programs
David Kreider: exhibit design and installation
Chuck Regier: graphic design

Lenders to the exhibition:
USD 373 Newton Public Schools
Newton Public Library
Mennonite Library and Archives
Bethel College Art Department
Kauffman Museum

Special thanks to:
Marianne Eichelberger, Newton Public Library
Joni Jantz, USD 373 Newton Public Schools
George Leary, Santa Fe 5/6 Center
David Long, Bethel College Art Department
John Thiesen, Mennonite Library and Archives