The museum is open late on April 5 from 5-7 p.m. with light refreshments, two exhibitions, and a community storytelling project.

As the Center for Great Plains Studies’ inaugural student storyteller in residence, Karla is leading a community storytelling project, Dear Great Plains, to gather and share the experiences of the region’s residents. During First Friday, visit the lower-level Elizabeth Rubendall Artist-in-Residence Studio & Education Lab to write a postcard to the Great Plains. Following a collection period, the postcards will become a public art installation at the Great Plains Art Museum.

“There is no right or wrong way to make your postcard: paint it your favorite shade of yellow, write a grocery list for your grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies, chronicle the worst snow day of your life,” Hernandez Torrijos wrote. “We are interested in the story of the Great Plains, as told by the people who live here.”

Supplies will be provided to create a postcard and Karla will be facilitating the process from 5-7 p.m. Can’t make it to First Friday? Create a digital version that will be copied onto a physical postcard.

On view:
“(Re)Connected: Elizabeth Rubendall Artist-in-Residence Angela Two Stars”
March 1–July 20, 2024
The Great Plains Art Museum’s 2024 Elizabeth Rubendall Artist in Residence is Angela Two Stars, a multidisciplinary visual artist, public artist, and curator. By reconnecting with the Dakota language and her ancestral homelands, Angela addresses healing from historical, intergenerational, and personal traumas in her recent work. About this exhibition, she writes: “Through personal, vulnerable installations and performances, (Re)Connected boldly addresses issues that have caused the traumas endured by Native women but also highlights their strength, beauty, and resilience, as well as their roles as leaders, caretakers, life-givers, and protectors of all their relations.”

“Sarah Kaizar: RARE AIR”
January 23–May 4, 2024
This family friendly art exhibition features original gouache and ink artwork from the book ”RARE AIR: Endangered Birds, Bats, Butterflies, and Bees.” Authored by Philadelphia-based illustrator and designer Sarah Kaizar, and featuring writings by A. Scott Meiser, ”RARE AIR” focuses on diminishing flighted species and citizen science. The exhibition, which shares the book’s stories and research, features striking visuals and interactive elements that connect visitors of all ages to the diversity of our ecosystems and the extraordinary creatures that populate them. Kaizar’s work enables audiences to recognize and appreciate the winged species that share our world and offers strategies—big and small—to slow or reverse the threats that face them.