'Collecting Nebraska' offers visual history of state

The Great Plains Art Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will feature artworks depicting Nebraska or created by Nebraska artists to continue celebrating the state’s 150th birthday.

The exhibition “Collecting Nebraska,” which runs from Aug. 4 through Dec. 16, joins the photography exhibition by David Lovekin and Rick Houchin to make both floors of the museum Nebraska-related.

Over the past two centuries, artists have been inspired by the Nebraska experience and have created a visual history of the state dating as far back as 1859. Nebraska’s changing landscape, from wide-open prairie to bustling cities, can be witnessed in paintings, photographs, prints, textiles and sculptures from the museum’s permanent collection.

“This exhibition is a great chance to see the variety of the museum’s collection and the trajectory of artmaking in Nebraska,” curator Melynda Seaton said.

“Collecting Nebraska” includes paintings by Keith Jacobshagen, Dale Nichols and Albert Bierstadt; photographs by Michael Forsberg, Michael Farrell and George Tuck; and 3D work by Molly Murphy Adams and Herb Mignery.

The exhibition’s opening reception, in the theme of a Nebraska birthday party, will take place during Lincoln’s First Friday Art Walk from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 4 and will include food and drink.

The Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St., is open to the public 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free.