Crossroads: Change in Rural America

Crossroads: Change in Rural America is a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition drawing on the history and culture of rural America to provoke fresh thinking and spark conversations about the future and sustainability of rural communities.

Crossroads: Change in Rural America offers small towns a chance to look at their own paths over the past century and to highlight the changes that affected their fortunes. The exhibition will prompt discussions about what happened when America’s rural population became a minority of the country’s population and the ripple effects that continue today.

With support from Colorado Humanities and the Smithsonian, the Crossroads exhibition gives Colorado communities the chance to explore how their community has adapted to change. Host sites will develop a complementary exhibit and programming that tells their community’s unique Crossroads story and sparks important conversations about local issues.

Ten Colorado communities have been selected to host the Smithsonian exhibition for six weeks each, beginning in August of 2023.

Congratulations to our local hosts!  Please visit the exhibit as it tours Colorado.

View the local posters as they become available by clicking on the town name.

August 26 – October 9, 2023 Walsenburg Museum of Friends
October 16 – November 25, 2023 Alamosa San Luis Valley Museum
December 4, 2023 – January 13, 2024  Trinidad Corazon de Trinidad Creative District
January 22 – March 2, 2024  La Junta Otero College and Southeast Colorado Creative Partnership
March 11 – April 20, 2024  Yampa Yampa-Egeria Historical Society
April 29, 2024 – June 3, 2024  Ignacio Ignacio Creative District
June 17 – July 20, 2024  Paonia Blue Sage Center for the Arts
August 1 – September 14, 2024  Sterling Overland Trail Museum
September 23 – November 2, 2024  Burlington Old Town Museum
November 11 – December 21, 2024  Gunnison Gunnison Arts Center

To learn more about Museum on Mainstreet, and other Colorado Humanities history programs, please contact program coordinator Jennifer Macias at jennifer@coloradohumanities.org 303.894.7951 x17

About Museum on Main Street

Museum on Main Street (MoMS) is a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and Colorado Humanities to bring traveling exhibitions, educational resources, and programming to small towns through their own local museums, historical societies, and other cultural venues. The exhibitions are designed to engage communities and become a catalyst for conversations.

Made possible in Colorado by Colorado Humanities. Crossroads: Change In Rural America is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Federation of State Humanities Councils. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Hearst Foundation.

Special thanks to our partners

Upcoming Events

Join Colorado Humanities in our upcoming events

GET INVOLVED TODAY

Colorado Humanities forges program partnerships statewide to improve education, strengthen cultural institutions and enrich community life. Your contribution makes you an important part of it.