An upcoming exhibition at the Watkins Museum of History in Lawrence will feature an art wall made from work by previously and currently unhoused community members. The show, titled “Unsettled Lawrence,” is designed to share history and culture connected to unhoused and encamped people in Lawrence’s past and present.
The full exhibition highlights work by Rachel Schwaller, a lecturer in the University of Kansas Department of History, exploring how unhoused and encamped communities through Lawrence’s history helped foster diverse communities. Schwaller’s materials also aim to challenge stereotypes about unhoused people and emphasize that broader, systematic issues are not always considered.
Visitors can also expect oral history, art, and documentary photography, along with iPad kiosks offering digital maps of Lawrence’s East Bottoms and story maps of notable figures. The exhibit will run from Friday, Aug. 7 through Saturday, Feb. 6 in the museum’s third-floor changing exhibit gallery at 1047 Massachusetts St. The museum is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.