The Midwest is host to diverse people and experiences. Through a series of stories, this exhibit invites visitors to take a fresh look at a familiar space. Explore the complex landscape that is alternately celebrated as America’s Heartland and derided as “Flyover Country.” Meet musicians who rallied the nation to support farmers during the Farm Crisis and makers and artists who are reclaiming blighted industrial spaces. Hear accounts of Native American persistence, a program to amplify young Black voices, and a refugee’s pursuit of a new home and community in the Midwest. Consider how well your experiences align with representations of the Midwest in popular shows like Stranger Things and Parks and Recreation and engage family and friends in debates about what counts as “Midwest(ern).”

In addition to the Minnetrista lobby exhibit, Midwestern Stories exists as a digital exhibit. Visitors will find unique material here, including oral history podcasts, book reviews, and extended explorations of the stories shared in the physical exhibit.

Midwestern Stories was created as a part of a two-course sequence at Ball State University. The exhibit is funded by a grant from the Indiana Humanities Council and by a BSU Provost Immersive Learning Grant.