Miniature exhibition explores childhood imagination

A new exhibition at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Kruger Gallery is using miniatures to explore the imagination of childhood.

The exhibition, “Dream Space | Play Space: Celebrating the Imagination of Childhood and the Magic of a Miniature” features 12 scenes that examine the fantasies, fears and pleasures of children. By viewing the spaces, individuals become immersed into a place they have dreamed of entering, such as a castle bedroom, a fancy tea party or a storybook house.

“When children visit the Kruger Gallery, they innocently ask me if small people live in the miniature scenes,” said DiAnna Hemsath, curator of the Kruger Collection. “The ‘Dream Space | Play Space’ exhibition allows the audience to visually pretend that they could live in the scenes. Each miniature scene balances on the magical line between the conquerable and unobtainable.”

The exhibition will be on display through July 2017.

The Kruger Gallery is part of the university’s College of Architecture and is located in Architecture Hall. It is open to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Admission is free.

The gallery features a variety of miniatures, most of which were collected by Eloise Kruger. The gallery’s namesake appreciated the fine-scale craftsmanship that goes into the creation of miniatures, collecting more than 20,000 individual pieces. While only a small portion of the collection is on display in the gallery, storage room appointments are available.

For more information on the Kruger Gallery, click here or call 402-472-3560.

DiAnna Hemsath | Architecture