Press Release
January 21, 2025
Contact: CJ Budy
Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 580-237-1907
christopher.budy@history.ok.gov
www.csrhc.org
“The Fourth Grade Project” Exhibit Coming to Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid
ENID, Okla. — “The Fourth Grade Project,” a new exhibit at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, will be open from January 28 to March 16 in the Mabee Foundation Gallery.
In the past decade, acclaimed artist Judy Gelles interviewed and photographed more than 300 fourth-grade students from a wide range of economic and cultural backgrounds in China, England, India, Israel, Italy, Nicaragua, St. Lucia, South Africa, Dubai, South Korea and multiple areas of the United States. She asked all of the students the same three questions: Who do you live with? What do you wish for? What do you worry about? Their varied stories, highlighted in the exhibit “The Fourth Grade Project,” touch on the human condition and urgent social issues.
The students’ stories capture the gamut of societal issues that we face today: violence, immigration, the demise of the nuclear family, global hunger and the impact of the media and popular culture. The combination of frontal and reverse portraits allowed for the development of both personal and universal stories. In all of the portraits across the spectrum of countries, the children are presented as individuals; however, their stories speak to greater pervasive truths and problems within our society. Told in their own words, these children’s stories touch on some of our most pressing social issues and common human experiences.
The exhibit is included with the cost of regular admission. For more information about this exhibit and the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, please visit csrhc.org or call 580-237-1907.
About ExhibitsUSA
This exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than twenty-five exhibitions on tour to over 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. These exhibitions create access to an array of arts and humanities experiences, nurture the understanding of diverse cultures and art forms, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities. For more about ExhibitsUSA, email MoreArt@maaa.org or visit www.eusa.org.
About Mid-America Arts Alliance
Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) strengthens and supports artists, cultural organizations, and communities throughout our region and beyond. Additional information about M-AAA is available at www.maaa.org.
About the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center
The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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Editor’s Note: Photos of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center are available upon request.
