Special Collections Exhibitions

Hornbake Library, Room 1202

Rising Up: 100 Years of Student Activism for Justice and Civil Rights at the University of Maryland

In 2020, the world witnessed a trans-continental racial reckoning after the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd. According to the Harvard Kennedy Carr Center, these protests saw 15 million to 26 million participants. Students from all over the country, including students from the University of Maryland, were part of the protests and demonstrations that demanded justice and equity within our nation's political, judicial, and academic systems.

This exhibition is inspired by the uprising in 2020 and the long history of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion at the University of Maryland. The exhibition centers the student activism and social movements of historically marginalized communities and their fight for civil rights including African American, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, Latinx, and Asian American students, advocates for women's rights, and students in the undocumented community. Drawing on records from over one hundred years, we piece together stories of students disrupting the status quo and demanding a more inclusive and equitable community.

Perfoming Arts Library, Room 1510

Photography by Max Waldman

Max Waldman (1919-1981) photographed some of the greatest theatre and dance artists during the 1960s & 1970s in New York City. Instead of capturing the artists onstage, however, he invited them to his studio where he often created new arrangements, which proved intimate and profound. Over 50 photos were selected to display in this exhibit from the nearly 400 in Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA)'s Max Waldman collection of performing arts photographs. Photography by Max Waldman was curated by Drew Barker, UMD's Performing Arts Librarian. (Image above of Revelations, choreographed by Alvin Ailey.)

Performing Arts Library, Room 1517

Gladys Stone Wright: Promoting Women on the Band Podium

Gladys Stone Wright (b. 1925), a prominent conductor and music educator, is a founding member of Women Band Directors International, and the first woman inducted into the American Bandmasters Association (ABA) membership. After completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon, she became the first woman high school director in the state as director of bands at Elmira Union High School from 1948-1953. Wright continued working as a high school band director in Otterbein, Indiana and West Lafayette, Indiana from 1954 through 1984. Throughout her teaching career, Wright’s bands were known for performing at conferences, including the Midwest Clinic and the International Band and Orchestra Conference. 

Gladys Stone Wright: Promoting Women on on the Band Podium was curated by Dr. Christian Folk and Dr. Jessica Grimmer, who have each worked as project archivists at MSPAL's Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA) for the ABA Research Center there. The exhibit surveys Wright’s career and numerous contributions to wind band music and advocacy for women band directors, and features archival artifacts from the Gladys Stone Wright papers at UMD's Special Collections in Performing Arts, such as photographs, concert programs, newspaper articles, awards, recordings, and musical compositions.

This exhibit runs through summer 2025.

Hornbake Library, Room 1218

Permanent Exhibition

The Katherine Anne Porter Room was established by the University of Maryland in appreciation of the generosity and interest of this distinguished American author. From that time until ill health prevented it, Porter came often to this room to work on her papers. She thought of it as a place where individuals could "view and enjoy her library and furnishings" in an atmosphere that reflected her personal taste and style. Today, this room serves as a permanent exhibition and is open to all visitors and free of cost.

More about the Porter Room