Events Calendar

Join curators Kim Marra and Mark Anderson for a more in-depth look at their exhibition, The Pull of Horses on National and Local Histories and Identities. On this guided tour, hear fascinating stories not originally included in the exhibit, learn more about some of the curators' favorite artifacts, and find out how the exhibit and their documentary came to life.

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.