Among Women weaves together the history of the Woman’s Club and Lexington’s social and cultural changes over more than a century. From early reform efforts to historic preservation, the exhibit traces the club and Lexington from the Progressive Era to the late 20th century. The exhibit features:

– Community changes including the establishment of the first public library, anti-spitting ordinances, and the adoption of standard time
– The influence of significant club members including Madeline McDowell Breckinridge, Lucille Caudill Little, and Loretta Brock Clark
– Artifacts once belonging to Katherine Pettit and Helen Evans as well as period style show clothing—not to be missed.

The five groups of photographers in this exhibition worked collectively to capture the unique people, landscapes, and pace of life that distinguish Lexington, Kentucky. Maurice Strider collaborated with his students at Dunbar High School between 1934 and 1966 to create a rich archive of Black Lexington. Ida Nelson and Robert J. Long established Lafayette Studios in downtown Lexington to produce images for a range of commercial purposes between 1923 and 1959. The Lexington Camera Club was founded in 1936 and met regularly, often in room 208 at the UK Fine Arts Building, to encourage amateur photographers to develop more subjective uses for the medium. Their meetings continued for over thirty years with more than fifty members, and the club made its mark on photographic history with images that blend memory and imagination. In 2004, Marcie Crim, Jonathan Rodgers, David Schankula, and Richie Wireman began the Lexicon Project, a documentation of diverse communities in the city. Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova posted photographs and narratives on Facebook between 2020 and 2021 to facilitate connection in a time of social distancing.  

This exhibition is presented in honor of Lexington’s 250th birthday celebration and features work from our Museum collection, University of Kentucky Special Collections, and the Kentucky Room at the Lexington Public Library. 

An exhibition of historical and contemporary handprinted “broadsides” — reflecting the artistry of the written word, as well as the printing process.

StoryCorps is committed to the idea that everyone has an important story to tell and that everyone’s story matters. Our mission: to help us believe in each other by illuminating the humanity and possibility in us all — one story at a time. Since our founding in 2003, we’ve helped nearly 700,000 people across the country have meaningful conversations about their lives. These recordings are collected in the U.S. Library of Congress and in our online archive which is now the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered.

And while our stories are broadcast weekly on NPR to over 12 million listeners, StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit, sharing select stories with the public through our podcast, animated shorts, digital platforms, and best-selling books.

Lexington, what stories are you going to share?

Collected Memory: Items and Artifacts from 250 Years of Lexington History” is a local history exhibit commemorating 250Lex from March 21 to July 13 at the Central Library Gallery, 140 East Main Street. The exhibit includes items from the library’s own Kentucky Room collection as well as loans from the Lexington History Museum, Keeneland, the University of Kentucky, and local residents.

Discover early 19th-century Lexington in this four-panel traveling exhibit. Images and text illustrate city life, the economy, schools and churches, and arts and leisure during the years Mary Todd lived in Lexington (1818-1839).

For ages 12-up. Free. Open during library hours.

The exhibit was created by the Mary Todd Lincoln House in partnership with 250Lex, the city’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Lexington.