Exhibits debut at museum Friday

Visitors to the Sweetwater County Historical Museum will have a chance

to view its long-awaited New Studio exhibit Friday, as well as a Christmas

exhibit featuring a portion of the museum’s collection of ornaments.

Amanda Benson, curator at the museum, said the New Studio exhibit

at the museum features different photos than the traveling exhibit in

Rock Springs. While the exhibit will showcase some photos from the Rock

Springs area, Benson said it will have more of a focus on Sweetwater County and Green River.

Along with the photos, the exhibit will also feature an interactive portion

teaching visitors some of the basics of photographic composition. Visitors

can stand at different portions of the exhibit and take photographs of themselves in different lighting conditions. Lighting can change the mood of a photo, despite the subject remaining the same.

The exhibit comes from a collection of photos and items purchased

from New Studio in Rock Springs. The business was originally founded

in 1919 by Charles August and Frank Nakako and continues to operate under current owner Diane Butler. The collection features more than 75,000 film negatives of portraits and photography from the studio’s opening to the mid 1990s. The collection was purchased through local donations and grants.

Of the photos in the exhibit, Benson said her favorite was the portrait

taken of Nakako taken in 1927. Nakano left the business in 1923 and the

portrait was taken by August. Benson said it stands out to her

because of the work she put in to positively identify Nakako, which included reaching out to a grandson for confirmation.

The second exhibit opening at the museum will have more of a seasonal

focus. Benson said the exhibit will feature a selection from the museum’s

collection of ornaments, as well as a Santa Claus suit, toys and an aluminum Christmas tree. One of the difficulties Benson had with this exhibit is the number of ornaments the museum owns forced her to be very selective in which to display. However, she hopes the collection displayed will delight visitors.

“I want it to be festive and speak for itself,” Benson said.

Both exhibits replace the longstanding outlaw exhibit. While an official reception isn’t planned, the museum will be open later than usual for the exhibits’ debut, closing at 7 p.m. Friday.