Jeanine Michna-Bales Exhibitions - Opening Reception

On Saturday, Oct 18th, the Irving Archives and Museum will be hosting an opening reception to celebrate our new upcoming exhibitions, Through Darkness to Light and Standing Together, from celebrated photographer, Jeanine Michna-Bales!

We welcome all the join us for the reception between 1 - 3pm. For more information on the upcoming exhibits, here is a brief description of them both:

ON VIEW: October 18, 2025 through January 4, 2026

Photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales spent more than a decade meticulously researching “fugitive” enslaved people and the ways they escaped to freedom. While the unnumbered routes of the Underground Railroad encompassed countless miles, the path Michna-Bales documented encompasses roughly 2,000 of them and is based off of actual sites, cities, and places that freedom-seekers passed through during their journey. This stunning exhibition features 48 photographs the artist captured along the route.

A selection of works from Jeanine Michna-Bales’ book, Standing Together: Inez Milholland’s Final Campaign for Women’s Suffrage (2016 – 2020) comprises this photography exhibition which creates a unique glimpse into the American Women’s Suffrage Movement, retracing the 1916 National Woman’s Party Campaign and highlighting one courageous suffragist’s (Inez Milholland) brutal journey crisscrossing the American west by train and motor car to persuade standing-room-only crowds to vote for the enfranchisement of women. Through her photographs, which combine dramatic landscapes, historical reenactments of important vignettes of Milholland’s journey, and archival materials, Michna-Bales captures a glimpse of the monumental effort required to pass the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Standing Together, Jeanine Michna-Bales, Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, 2018.

Both exhibitions will be a part of our museum till early next year. Our hours of operation will be:

Wednesday through Saturday: 10am to 4pm

Sunday: 12pm to 4pm

We look forward to experiencing this exhibition with you and hope to see you at the reception!

Host or Publisher Irving Archives & Museum