Experience Wichita’s history from your car with this free, art installation
Wichita Festivals is shining some light on 25 iconic history-makers with ties to Wichita through an art installation that opens Nov. 6 with a special First Friday event.
About a dozen local artists were involved in creating the photographic tributes in “Depth of Field: A Wichita Photo Album.” The exhibit will be illuminated at night and on display from Friday, Nov. 6, through Monday, Nov. 16, in the windows of commercial and residential buildings along North St. Francis from Douglas Avenue to Second Street.
The history-makers who comprise “Depth of Field” include some obvious choices like the pioneer developer of Wichita J.R. Mead and aviation power couple Olive Ann and Walter Beech.
Some colorful characters are represented as well, such as Bat Masterson, whose range of jobs included lawman and professional gambler, and legendary silent film star Louise Brooks. Catherine McCarty, the only woman to sign the town charter creating Wichita, is also displayed. McCarty’s other claim to fame is being the mother of Billy the Kid.
Other individuals who are being honored include Wichita native Hattie McDaniel, who was the first African-American actor to win an Academy Award for her role in “Gone with the Wind,” prolific Native American artist Blackbear Bosin, who designed Wichita’s iconic Keeper of the Plains, and Texas transplant Dave Stallworth who helped put Wichita State’s basketball program on the map, played in the NBA and then made Wichita his home.
The photographs provided to the artists were culled from archives, public domain, and private and business collections, according to Wichita Festivals organizers. Most artists were referred for the exhibit by the Wichita chapter of AIGA, a professional design organization.
With a reputation for planning larger-scale events that draw tens of thousands of people, Wichita Festivals wanted to be able to stage an event that celebrated some of Wichita’s iconic figures and can bring together Wichitans in a socially distanced way, said Teri Mott, director of marketing and communication.
Information about each of the history-makers displayed in “Depth of Field” can be found at the specially created website wichitaphotoalbum.com.
‘Get Lit’ opening night
For the “Depth of Field” exhibition’s opening night, Wichita Festivals is collaborating with Wichita State University’s ShiftSpace Gallery to produce the First Friday event “Get Lit: A Night of Light,” that will run from 6 to 9 p.m.
The event will include two other art installations, the showing of a mini-documentary about Wichita’s first amusement park, live music and a drive-by donation booth for Wichita Festivals’ Hey Neighbor fundraising campaign.
The Hey Neighbor donation booth will be set up in the Coleman Parking Lot at the southeast corner of North St. Francis and Second Street and will feature several past Admiral Windwagon Smiths. In the same parking lot, the Shocker Sound Machine, WSU’s marching band ensemble, will perform at 7:30 p.m.
ShiftSpace Gallery is hosting the other two art installations: the one-night-only community art installation called “Multibubble” happening outside ShiftSpace Gallery’s location at Groover Labs, 334 N. St Francis, and the multimedia light installation, “When Nature and the Supernatural Collide: Disarray,” which will be on display inside the gallery.
“When we started to think about ways of safely coming together as a community, building literal bubbles made a lot of sense,” said Kristin Beal, ShiftSpace gallery manager, about the “Multibubble” installation. More than 20 artists — half of them WSU students and the other half from the community — have created artistic, individual inflated bubbles, using plastic sheeting and fans.
“Get Lit” kicks off with a 6 p.m. screening of “For Your Amusement: Wonderland Park on Ackerman Island” at Naftzger Park, 601 E. Douglas. The film was produced by artist Sara Joy Harmon, one of the participating artists in “Depth of Field.”
‘Depth of Field: A Wichita Photo Album’ display
What: Photograph installation coordinated by Wichita Festivals Inc. and created by a dozen local artists that honors 25 Wichita history-makers as part of the 150th anniversaries of Wichita and Sedgwick County
Where: In the windows of commercial and residential buildings along North St. Francis from Douglas to Second Street
When: Friday, Nov. 6-Monday, Nov. 16. The installation will be illuminated at night.
Admission: Free; donations for Wichita Festival’s Hey Neighbor fundraising campaign will be accepted from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, in the Coleman Parking Lot on the southeast corner of North St. Francis and Second Street.
More info: wichitaphotoalbum.com
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 5:01 AM.