The final projects of a history class turned into artistic exhibits that will give viewers insight into the Great Depression and other events in California’s past.
The first two exhibits, titled “Behind a Lens: The Photography of Dorothea Lange” and “The Civilian Conservation Corps, A Bridge to Recovery,” will run through June 17 in the newly renovated Historic Hall in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Hall in Arroyo Grande.
Professor Dan Krieger started this project for his California history class two years ago and gives the students an option of either doing a research paper or producing something for the exhibit.
This year, 11 students chose the exhibit, 10 of which produced a hard copy product with photos while one student produced a digital story that will be shown later on this summer.
Craig Rock, the project director, has worked with the students to help find their materials and pick the topics that are right for them.
Rock helped get students more excited and involved in the exhibit rather than the encouraging them to do the research paper.
“It’s been really great,” Rock said. “The students picked topics that are interesting and controversial that not a lot of people know about.”
Krieger will be at the exhibit’s opening May 19 from 2 to 5 p.m. to introduce the first two projects with a talk on the Depression and its effects on local communities.
The first two exhibits were put together by Cal Poly students Ashley Fletcher and Joseph Walker as part of a collaborative effort with the newly formed Exhibit Committee of the South County Historical Society.
Fletcher, a liberal studies sophomore, took this class as a requirement and ended up enjoying working on the exhibit.
“I chose the exhibit over the research paper because it interested me more,” Fletcher said. “It seemed more fun to choose something in history and produce something from it rather than just writing another paper.”
Fletcher wanted to do her exhibit on the Japanese Internment camps in California, but when it was taken, Krieger suggested she present the photography of Dorothea Lange.
Additional exhibits by Krieger’s students will be shown throughout summer at the Historic Hall, open from 1 to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, with special programs scheduled at 2 p.m. on the opening dates of new exhibits.