Speaking of Work Traveling Exhibit

In 2017, John and UI Labor Center director Jennifer Sherer co-curated, Speaking of Work, an exhibit that was part of the University of Iowa’s Mobile Museum. That version of the exhibit traveled to thirty-two Iowa counties, engaging over thirty-five thousand visitors at fifty-four events, including the Iowa State Fair.

Building on that success, the Iowa Labor History Society (ILHS) redeveloped the exhibit with the support of Humanities Iowa, the state affiliated of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The current version of the exhibit uses banner stands and audio clips to tell stories from the Iowa Labor History Oral Project. More information about the exhibit (including information about renting it for an event) can be found on the ILHS website.

(Banner designed by Will Thomson, Armadillo Arts, Iowa City, in collaboration with John McKerley. Images of Anna Mae Weems courtesy of the Waterloo Courier; image of women strike supporters courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City)