Home

Calendar

Filter

Search

Exhibit Opening Celebration: The Pull of Horses on National and Local Histories and Identities

Jan 24, 2020

05:00 PM - 07:00 PM

University of Iowa Main Library, Main Library Gallery

125 West Washington Street, Iowa City, IA 52242

Save to My Events

The event image is title text that says "The Pull of Horses on National and Local Histories and Identities," January 23 through March 29.

Join curators Dr. Kim Marra and Mark Anderson to celebrate the opening of The Pull of Horses on National and Local Histories and Identities in the Main Library Gallery!

Gather at 5:00pm for snacks in the lobby outside the Main Library Gallery, then hear remarks from the curators at 5:30pm before a ribbon cutting. The exhibition will be open for viewing from 5:45 - 7:00pm, during which the curators will be available for questions.

About the exhibition: Along with our ancestors, horses helped build Iowa City, the state, and the nation. In the process, they profoundly shaped human identities. This exhibition explores the physical and social impact of these huge, powerful animals by screening on a loop the original documentary film The Pull of Horses in Urban American Performance, 1860-1920 at life-sized scale amid displays of local equine history. The exhibition contains glimpses of Iowa City town and campus life, as well as national equestrian culture – especially as multitudes of women took up the sport of riding and advocated for suffrage. Original and reproduction publications, photographs, artifacts, and ephemera from Special Collections at the University of Iowa Libraries, the State Historical Society of Iowa, and from private collections will share a sampling of stories about life alongside horses from Iowa City’s, and the nation’s, past. Curated by Kim Marra, PhD of the University of Iowa Departments of Theatre Arts and American Studies, and Mark Anderson of the Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio at the University of Iowa Libraries.

Many thanks to our exhibit and event sponsors for their support: Friends of the University of Iowa Libraries, Arts and Humanities Initiative, the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, the University of Iowa Theatre Arts Department, and the University of Iowa Department of American Studies.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact in advance at

  • Interests