Title: Building Community Dates:Opening September 15, 2007
Discover the story of hard-working immigrant families who built our
town, and the railroad that shaped our community. Follow each section
of the exhibit to encounter interesting artifacts, explore our railroad
heritage and participate in fun activities for children. Title: Documenting the Rails ~ the Work of Philip A. Weibler Dates:June 22 - September 15, 2007
A new exhibit opens on June 22, 2007 at the West Chicago City Museum showcasing the talents of local photographer, Philip A. Weibler. Over two dozen of his railroad photographs can be viewed in the exhibit which runs through September 15, 2007.
Weibler started taking photographs while still in grade school and he did much of the photography for his high school yearbook. Although he has always photographed a wide range of subjects, he is perhaps best known for his railroad photographs, which have appeared in magazines, books and calendars over the past 50 years.
Weibler's love for trains started when he was just a boy and when he took up photography as a hobby, he snapped train images with his first camera, a Baby Brownie. Documenting the Rails includes scenes from Illinois, Colorado, Missouri and West Virginia, taken over a forty year period.
Title: Immigration: Building a Community Dates:Through November 2007
This exhibit, from the museum’s permanent collection, focuses on the community’s main immigrant groups: English, Irish, German and Mexican. This exhibit tells the story of several of these immigrant families that were once newcomers to this country. A children’s discovery area includes a touch screen computer activity, an immigrant trunk and a simulated steerage bunk. Here children can imagine traveling by ship and coming to a new land.
Title: Immigration Project Artist: Anni Holm Dates:April 3 – May 26, 2007
Reception: May 26, 2007, 4 – 6 p.m.
Anni Holm emigrated from Denmark to the Chicagoland area eight years ago. Her artwork investigates the challenges that face non-U.S. citizens that arrive to study, to work or establish themselves as residents of this country. Her work challenges the viewer to question current immigration practices.
Title: Immigrant Culture Through the Eyes of a Lens
Artist: Students of the Welcome Center Dates:December 19, 2006 – March 17, 2007
Reception: January 12, 2007
The 18 images are the work of Community High School students. The students are participants in the Welcome Center, a joint initiative of Community High School and Elementary School District 33, serving new immigrant students in grades 4-12. Their photos are a record of their family lives that uniquely depict their culture.
