Past Exhibits

The Wangensteen's newest exhibit explores an illustrated guide to the seven famous hot springs in Hakone, Japan.

Humans first arrived on Greenland circa 2500 B.C.E. This exhibition tells the story — largely forgotten and never widely known — of the peoples who immigrated to this beautiful but challenging land. The exhibit, open through Aug. 31, 2023 at the Bell Room Gallery, located in the Wallin Center on the ground level of Elmer L. Andersen Library, is presented by the James Ford Bell Library.

With the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine, a cohort of Fulbright photographers, both Ukrainian and American, found themselves at the epicenter of momentous events. They were equipped with their ultimate weapons, their cameras. They managed to capture the tragic and heroic, the devastating and hopeful moments of present life in Ukraine. The exhibit is sponsored by Fulbright Ukraine and the Fulbright Association Minnesota Chapter.

Long before our current age of globalization, cloth was a major trade commodity. Textiles, woven from diverse fibers, dyed to various hues, and adorned with myriad designs, were produced by unique cultures around the earth. This exhibit, presented by the James Ford Bell Library, explores the interwoven elements of textiles, trade, and attire in the premodern world.

Experts in human-computer interaction (HCI), virtual reality (VR), and digital graphics have dabbled across these overlapping fields for many years, but a new generation of users and high-tech culture mavens are integrating these technologies to take them to new and dizzying heights. This exhibit is presented by the Charles Babbage Institute Archives at the University of Minnesota Libraries.

The original drawings created for the book, “Five Bay Landscapes: Curious Explorations of the Great Lakes Basin” by Karen Lutsky and Sean Burkholder, are on exhibit through May 31, 2023 at the U of M Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library. A reception and book launch event takes place March 29, 5-7 p.m.

This exhibition at the Goldstein Museum of Design attempts to illustrate the intersection between anti-mainstream musicians and how they depict their music through promotional graphics, uniting sound with visual expression. Through materials from the University of Minnesota Libraries' Minnesota Underground Music Archive, affordable production methods, such as Risograph, screen print, Xerox, pen and ink illustration, and collage, are explored in detail, analyzing the aesthetic nuances that these techniques offer.

See student success in action! This multi-part exhibit explores how undergraduate students from a variety of academic disciplines use historical materials from the Wangensteen in their coursework and projects.

From the Collection of Glen S. Miranker Feb. 13 through May 5 Since his first appearance in 1887 during the 50th year of Queen Victoria’s reign, Sherlock Holmes has been nothing short of a literary juggernaut....

“The Art of Tiny Things” celebrates the tiny things in life! Explore miniature books, as well as art from the Andersen Horticultural Library’s collection, featuring tiny organisms that are often overlooked, including moss, fungi, lichen, insects, and more. “The Art of Tiny Things” is on display through Feb. 28, 2023.

Capturing Colors: The 5th Annual Flora & Fauna Illustrata Exhibition features scientifically-accurate, brightly-colored artwork by local artists depicting flowers, fruits, insects and other organisms living at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Let's take a look back at the Halloween @ Wangensteen 2022 pop up exhibit. See some spooky images from the collection and look back at the fun!

The Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine will be showcasing some of the most famous images in the history of anatomy on November 18, 12-1:30pm.

Travel literature was one of the most popular genres in the late medieval and early modern periods. These were times of unprecedented travel, which coincided with the advent of the printing press in Europe. This exhibit will explore both the art of constructing a good travel narrative, based on real or imagined travel, and the artwork that often accompanied these literary works. This exhibit is open Oct. 20, 2022 through Jan. 27, 2023 at the Bell Gallery in the Wallin Center (ground floor) of Elmer L. Andersen Library.

“The Eyes See What the Heart Feels: From the Archives of Photographer & Painter Adger Cowans” takes a sweeping retrospective look at the life and work of photographer and painter Adger Cowans. Materials from his archives display key thematic moments from the late 1950s to the present including water studies, jazz portraits, Hollywood portraits, and street scenes. Also featured are a selection of paintings and the production archives of the autobiographical artists’ book published out of a collaboration between Cowans and 21st Editions that reveals the spiritual nature of this master photographer and painter. The exhibit is open Sept. 12, 2022 through Jan. 31, 2023 at Elmer L. Andersen Library.

“Drawn to Health: Bodies and Medicine in Popular Visual Culture” explores the historical and contemporary use of visual narratives to communicate about health, featuring collections held at both the Wangensteen Historical Library and the Children’s Literature Research Collections. Visit this exhibit now through December 29, 2022.