Traveling Exhibitions

Tuned to the Spirit: Photographs from the Sacred Steel Community

Tuned to the Spirit offers an elegant, sensitive, and deeply respectful portrait of music-making and worship in African American faith communities that are set apart by their embrace of the electric steel guitar as a primary instrument of praise. Folklorist Robert Stone’s first audio recordings of the “sacred steel” guitar musical tradition of African American Pentecostal churches were released in the 1990s. The musically unique and passionately played performances created an immediate international roots music sensation, which continues to endure. Resulting from nearly three decades of close interaction with the worship communities, Stone’s photographs present an intimate picture of praise, prayer, contemplation and celebration in the Spirit. Altogether, the images offer vivid, eloquent testament to the power of music in the expression of joy and communion. This exhibition is augmented by video and audio, and is organized by The Arhoolie Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the documentation, preservation, and celebration of regional roots music and its makers.

Shutter and Sound: The Jazz Photography of Bob Willoughby

Bob Willoughby is perhaps best known for his candid photographs of famous Hollywood actors; but before taking photos on film sets, he captured many images of jazz musicians. His photographs stand out because of their realism and immediacy. Working in difficult lighting and crowded conditions, these images are jazz improvisation made manifest: they give the viewer a sense of vibrant intimacy as he captured wistful singers, jamming musicians, and enthusiastic audiences.

1968: A Folsom Redemption

1968: A Folsom Redemption is a collection of photographs and memories of two journalists lucky enough to be among a handful of eyewitnesses to the historic concerts by Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison.

A Cast of Blues

A celebration of Mississippi’s rich musical heritage, this exhibition features 15 resin-cast masks of blues legends created by artist Sharon McConnell-Dickerson, as well as 15 framed photographs of blues artists (and the colorful juke joints in which they played) by photographer Ken Murphy.