An exhibit of tourism artifacts and postcards, curated by students in Dr. Kenyon Holder’s Museum Studies class is on display this summer at Troy University’s International Arts Center.
The exhibit, “The All-Consuming Gaze: Tourist Sourvenirs and the Commodification of Travel,” showcases items from the John Pollard Cross Collection and the Wade Hall Postcard Collection that are a part of the Troy University Libraries archives. The exhibit will be on display until Aug. 24.
Students in the class selected more than 50 cultural items from the Cross collection, researched the items and wrote abstracts to be displayed with the items as a part of the exhibit. International postcards from the Hall collection were selected to augment and highlight the cultural items.
Dr. Holder said she was proud of the effort the students put into creating the exhibit and that she was grateful to Kelly Reeves of the Troy University Libraries and Greg Skaggs, Chair of the Department of Art and Design for their support of the project.
“The students worked very hard to create an excellent tourism exhibit,” she said.
Students creating the exhibit were: Kathryn Anderton, Brian Asselstine, Diana Avendano, Emma Couch, McKinzie Daniels, Noah Gold, Blake Greene, Peyton Lawrence, Laken Lee, Taylor Lovelace, Jennifer McCohnell, Brandon Rice, Michelle Rousseau, Shaelee Scarberry, McKenzie Teems, and Ophelia Walker.
Cross and Hall were both TROY alumni who had careers in academia, were extensive world travelers and published authors.
Cross, who earned his bachelor’s degree in history from TROY and went on to enjoy a career in academic publishing, visited every continent and more than 70 countries. He wrote the books, “Just Go!,” “Todos Santos and Baja Mexico,” and “Costa Rica: The Pura Vida Country.” He died in 2021.
Dr. Hall, who died in 2015, grew up near Union Springs. After serving as a teacher in Opp and a stint in the U.S. Army, Hall earned a master’s degree from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. He taught English at the University of Florida, Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. Troy University Libraries have created four traveling exhibits from Dr. Hall’s massive postcard collection, highlighting notable Alabama streets, government buildings, tourism and military service. The University annually recognizes a person who has made significant contributions to Southern heritage and culture in history, literature or the arts with the Hall-Waters Prize, which was endowed by Dr. Hall as a memorial to his parents, Wade Hall Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth Waters Hall.
