MANHATTAN - Photographs by the iconic Gordon Parks and rising star Doug Barrett are a part of the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art's 25th anniversary celebration.
The exhibitions, Gordon Parks: Homeward to the Prairie I Come and Doug Barrett: Find Your Voice, are scheduled through May 28. The Parks exhibition, in the Marion Pelton Gallery, features photographs from a gift that Parks gave to K-State in 1973 and those made during visits to Manhattan in the 1980s, according to information from the museum. The Barrett exhibition, in the Archie and Dorothy Hyle Family Gallery, offers a glimpse of work by the "Manhattan-based photographer who makes compelling visual stories about people with whom he made personal connections, such as homeless veterans around the country and residents of Manhattan’s historic African American neighborhood," the museum noted in a news release.
"The exhibition also exemplifies Parks' influence on Barrett and other contemporary artists," the museum added.
The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, 701 Beach Lane, is located on the southeast corner of the Kansas State University campus. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Free parking is available adjacent to the building.
In addition to in-person viewing, both exhibitions are also offered virtually and have a 3D touring option. The exhibitions also can be viewed at beach.k-state.edu/explore.
The Beach Museum also plans to offer free public programs that "offer ways to learn more about these photographers and why their work is relevant." Those programs are as follows.
●Considering Techniques: Jim Richardson on Gordon Parks, will be offered via Zoom at 5:30 p.m. CST Feb. 24. This free livesteam presentation is a gallery conversation with Richardson, a photographer for National Geographic magazine from Lindsborg. Register for the free program at ksu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qiRl2pb0SSicM6iiQX3ZIw.
●Two events offered on consecutive evenings in April at K-State's McCain Auditorium will feature artists who revere Parks as a mentor. Art Matters Now: Three Artists Reflect, at 7 p.m. CDT April 6, is a conversation with multimedia artist Andrew F. Scott, Academy Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker Kevin Willmott and six-time Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard. Each has a vision for how the arts can function as a tool for making our society more just and equitable. Presence of Absence: Gordon Parks Through an Empathic Lens, at 7:30 p.m. CDT April 7, features Blanchard and the E-Collective in concert, with staging by K-State students under the direction of Scott and Mathew Gaynor. Since last fall, Scott has been working with a group of K-State students, under the direction of Gaynor, head of the K-State art department, on a unique digital stage set for the performance. Both events are free, but tickets are required for the April 7 concert and can be obtained at McCain Auditorium beginning March 23 at the McCain Ticket Office, which is open from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Tickets also can be purchased by calling 785-532-6428 during ticket office hours. Tickets are not available online.
●The Beach Film Club will offer a virtual discussion of the 1971 movie "Shaft," directed by Parks, at 7 p.m. CDT April 13. Register for the free discussion program via Zoom at ksu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqf-irrzsvG90HgA_QZLD8z4cmNwkMzkAh.Watch the film in advance, available on several online streaming platforms.
Additionally, a catalog accompanying the Parks exhibition is scheduled to launch as an open access e-book published by K-State's New Prairie Press.
"This publication features new research about the photographer, his activities in Kansas, and the role of his home state in his artistic trajectory," the museum noted. "Check the museum website, beach.k-state.edu, for book availability in the spring."
To catch a livestream event or view exhibitions online, go to beach.k-state.edu, or watch videos of the museum's special programs and events on its YouTube channel, beach.k-state.edu/videos.