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LAWRENCE — KU Libraries will characteristic a brand new student-curated exhibition, “Travel, Tourism, and the Transmission of Knowledge in and Around Japan,” with an opening reception deliberate at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 3 in Kenneth Spencer Research Library’s exhibit gallery. 

Created by University of Kansas college students within the Kress Foundation Department of Art History spring seminar “Manuscripts, Maps, and Illustrated Books,” the brand new exhibition examines how data — from the scientific to the non secular and even the outlandish — was shared via centuries of journey, tourism and the circulation of books and manuscripts in Japan and past. 

“I think visitors will be surprised by the breadth of materials on display that all reflect different forms of travel and cross-cultural contact, touching upon how others viewed Japan, how Japanese people viewed others, and how Japanese people viewed their own identity in a global context,” stated Eve Wolynes, Spencer Library particular collections curator.  

The exhibition options supplies courting from 1646 to 1936, showcasing works from the Spencer Library’s collections, together with a variety of supplies from woodblock prints, maps, non secular artifacts and ephemera, to beer ads and tourism booklets. Highlights embody supplies as soon as collected by Kate Hansen, a Kansas missionary and music instructor who lived in Japan through the early twentieth century. 

The present was curated by 10 graduate college students from KU’s historical past of artwork division. Yuan-Hsi Chao, Brady Cullen, Aria Diao, Shangyi Lyu, Olivia Song, Emma Smith, Rebekah Staton, Heeryun Suh, Eli Troen and Morgan Williamson labored beneath the steering of Sherry Fowler, professor of Japanese artwork historical past, in collaboration with Wolynes. 

“I have been enjoying showing my students resources from the Spencer Research Library for years. This exhibition experience was so much richer,” Fowler stated. “The great part about a collaboration like this is the synergy created by collective experiences, which one person working alone could not accomplish. With staff guidance, it was wonderful for me to learn alongside students about the special features of a library exhibit.” 

The exhibit, organized round 5 thematic sections, explores the transmission of data throughout bodily and cultural boundaries, considers cultural encounters between East and West, and displays upon how individuals in and round Japan imagined their place on the planet. 

The Sept. 3 opening event is free and open to the general public. Visitors can have the chance to fulfill pupil curators, study their work and think about the exhibition, which runs via the autumn semester. 

“Working with the students has been a fantastic experience,” Wolynes stated. “Exhibits are complicated beasts with many moving parts, and integrating students into curation gives them a deeper, richer understanding of primary sources, historical analysis and public engagement.”  

Parking is out there within the Mississippi Street Garage (1261 Oread Ave.) For extra details about the exhibit, go to the Spencer Library website.