"War is never fatal, but always lost. Always lost." - Gertrude Stein
September 8-23, 2015
Open to the Public
Monday: Noon - 7 p.m.
Tuesday and Wednesday: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
South Central College Event Center
1225 Third Street SW, Faribault, MN
Join us for a special reception Monday, September 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Always Lost exhibition began as a classroom project at Western Nevada College. Sociology professor Don Carlson and English professor Marilee Swirczek sought to create a humanities exhibition that would humanize the consequences of war and honor those who fought in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The exhibition features 2004 Pulitzer Prize-winning Iraq war photographs by David Leeson and Cheryl Diaz Meyer courtesy of the Dallas Morning News and is accompanied by the literary reflections of students, veterans and their families, and the Nevada writing community. Also included in the exhibition is the personal story and writings of Specialist Noah Pierce, (born and raised in Eveleth, MN.), who took his own life after serving two tours in Iraq, and further reminds us of the devastating cost of war. The heart of the exhibition however, is composed of The Wall of the Dead, a memorial wall of 36, 2’ x 2’ panels featuring the names and photographs of U.S. military services members who have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars since
September 11, 2001. The wall continues to grow as it is regularly updated to reflect the increasing number of casualties.
Since Always Lost’s debut in 2009, requests for the exhibition came in from across the country. Funding from The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs and The National Endowment for the Arts provided the opportunity for Always Lost to become a traveling exhibition. The Minnesota Humanities Center has facilitated this exhibition’s journey in Minnesota, allowing it to travel to several of our communities throughout the state.
The Always Lost exhibition seeks to express and honor authentic Veteran narratives and experiences, and provides a space for the viewer to contemplate the effect, costs and sacrifices of both contemporary conflicts and historical ones. The universality of the impact of all war is a potent theme in this unique exhibition.
This program has been funded, in part, by the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The Minnesota statewide tour has been made possible by the Minnesota Humanities Center and funded in part with money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with a vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.
