Community Calendar

Bring your current project and enjoy the classic needle arts in the company of others who share your interest in knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch and weaving. All skill levels are welcome. Please note this program will not occur on 12/24.

The urge to create or possess a visual representation of a specific person – a portrait – is present throughout history. Portraits are created for many reasons: from sentimental to celebratory, for public or private viewing, as memorials, and as icons. .

Until the introduction of photography in the 1840s, portraits were rendered by artists in both two and three-dimensional mediums such as paintings and sculptures.

The Museum’s collection includes a variety of portraits, most of which depict local people. In this exhibition, we learn of portraiture and the people portrayed.

On view during regular Museum hours

March 2025 - March 2026

Tues-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum - 204 S Main

Located in the Musem's Lois Kay Walls Gallery - 3rd Floor

The urge to create or possess a visual representation of a specific person – a portrait – is present throughout history. Portraits are created for many reasons: from sentimental to celebratory, for public or private viewing, as memorials, and as icons. .

Until the introduction of photography in the 1840s, portraits were rendered by artists in both two and three-dimensional mediums such as paintings and sculptures.

The Museum’s collection includes a variety of portraits, most of which depict local people. In this exhibition, we learn of portraiture and the people portrayed.

On view during regular Museum hours

March 2025 - March 2026

Tues-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum - 204 S Main

Located in the Musem's Lois Kay Walls Gallery - 3rd Floor

WPL is partnering with NexStep Alliance to offer a tech help series, so come visit for assistance with digital skills. One tech topic will be discussed per event in the order listed. Topics will be: Basic Navigation/How to Use Your PC, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Android/iOS Tutorials, AI Usage, Digital Safety/Cyber Security and Social Media Safety, Settings and Troubleshooting/Open Forum. Register online at wichitalibrary.org/events or call (316) 688-9580 to speak with the Angelou Branch.

The urge to create or possess a visual representation of a specific person – a portrait – is present throughout history. Portraits are created for many reasons: from sentimental to celebratory, for public or private viewing, as memorials, and as icons. .

Until the introduction of photography in the 1840s, portraits were rendered by artists in both two and three-dimensional mediums such as paintings and sculptures.

The Museum’s collection includes a variety of portraits, most of which depict local people. In this exhibition, we learn of portraiture and the people portrayed.

On view during regular Museum hours

March 2025 - March 2026

Tues-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum - 204 S Main

Located in the Musem's Lois Kay Walls Gallery - 3rd Floor

Join a classic high fantasy Dungeons & Dragons campaign! New participants are welcome, but this campaign is designed for experienced players. For ages 13-18. Call (316) 350-3261 or visit wichitalibrary.org/events to register.

Use a free 3D modeling program, Tinkercad, to go beyond the basics and create digital objects in three dimensions. Call (316) 261-8500 or visit wichitalibrary.org/events to register.

Have you ever wanted to join a book club but the idea of having to say something smart to a group of strangers intimidates you? If so, the Silent Book Club is the perfect club for you! Join fellow book lovers for an introverted reading hour. Conversation is optional. Bring a book or borrow one of ours.

Wichitans desired to be modern since the City’s beginning in 1870. The Modern era had been evolving for a century at that time and it would take another 100 years before Wichita achieved a “modern” look. World War II (1939-1945) greatly disrupted development in design.

Over the next two decades, postwar prosperity propelled design of the modern era to its zenith. By that time, Wichita’s modernization was most apparent in its new urban 1969 skyline, which remains in place today.

In the 1950s and 1960s, modern design from architecture to fashions and furnishings became familiar as people followed popular trends replacing old with new. Visual art and advertising led the way for the modern look - which by the 1960s, people referred to as “Mod.” This new look coincided with changes as society became more pluralistic and increasingly aware of its diversity. The post-war baby boom gave rise to a prominent youth culture creating new markets. New technology improving the ability to travel and share information led to wide acceptance of modern style.

This modern sensibility cast a popular and unifying mindset. This era featured non-representational abstract design to create engaging effects rather than portray objects or scenes. The effects were both dazzling and confusing, challenging everyone’s perception of reality. Our visual world was forever changed.

(This exhibition follows (and is directly patterned after) the Museum’s previous exhibit Art Deco on the Plains. It takes the timeline forward to explore modern design experienced locally in the 1950s and 1960s. The exhibition is a feature of the Lois Kay Walls Local Visual Art History Series.)

On view through 2025 in the Slawson Gallery, 4th floor.

Tues-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum - 204 S Main

The urge to create or possess a visual representation of a specific person – a portrait – is present throughout history. Portraits are created for many reasons: from sentimental to celebratory, for public or private viewing, as memorials, and as icons. .

Until the introduction of photography in the 1840s, portraits were rendered by artists in both two and three-dimensional mediums such as paintings and sculptures.

The Museum’s collection includes a variety of portraits, most of which depict local people. In this exhibition, we learn of portraiture and the people portrayed.

On view during regular Museum hours

March 2025 - March 2026

Tues-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun 1-5pm

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum - 204 S Main

Located in the Musem's Lois Kay Walls Gallery - 3rd Floor

Learn to draw and color unique and fun sheets with local artist Jay Walter. For children ages 6-11.

Get moving with a new kind of video gaming console. Use your body motion to chop virtual fruit, whack-a-mole, or become a champion soccer goal keeper! For ages 4-11.

Make colorful beaded bracelets for yourself or your friends. For ages 6-18.

Get moving with a new kind of video gaming console. Use your body motion to chop virtual fruit, whack-a-mole, or become a champion soccer goal keeper!