The multimedia exhibit, “Warrior To Citizen: Stories of Minnesota’s Most Recent Veterans,” will be on Augsburg’s campus through Friday, Feb. 13. The exhibit is on display in the glass room next to the Student Art Gallery in the Christensen Center. This exhibit was designed by Kristin Farrell of the Center for Service, Work, and Learning at Augsburg.
The “Warrior To Citizen” exhibit features personal stories and artifacts gathered from 30 service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The exhibit captures an important piece of Minnesota history and offers a public space for thinking and talking about the ways military service impacts individuals and communities, and what veterans have to contribute.
The exhibit features four thematic listening/viewing stations as well as personal artifacts. “This exhibit is designed to move beyond the sound bite, the splashy image, and attention only on the heroes and the dead. Thousands of Minnesotans have quietly been creating contemporary history, engaging in acts of personal courage and selflessness. Yet we don’t know this, and we certainly don’t know them,” says Tim Kamenar, a member of the Minnesota National Guard and an instrumental organizer of the oral history project.
The oral history project that yielded this exhibit grew out of the Warrior to Citizen Campaign, a statewide grassroots effort to provide enduring support to veterans and their families. The campaign is organized by the Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
The exhibit will move on to Farmington, Minn., after its week at Augsburg College.