On Thursday, September 3, the John Wesley Powell River History Museum and Glen Canyon Institute invite the public to A Celebration of Glen Canyon Exposed. This special one-night event will bring together award-winning storyteller Craig Childs, photographer and exhibit co-curator Dawn Kish, master printmaker and exhibit co-curator Richard Jackson, and Hopi cultural educator Georgie Pongyesva.

Together they will explore Glen Canyon through literature, photography, artistic collaboration, and Indigenous knowledge, offering audiences an experience that reaches far beyond a traditional museum program.

The evening marks the conclusion of the acclaimed exhibition "Glen Canyon Exposed: Then + Now" and features a reception, presentations by each guest, audience conversation, and a final opportunity to experience the exhibition before it closes. At the heart of the evening is an extraordinary story.

In the 1950s, photographer Tad Nichols created one of the most enduring visual records of Glen Canyon before the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. After Tad's passing, his longtime friend and collaborator Richard Jackson became the steward of one of Tad's treasured Crown Graphic 4×5 cameras. Jackson later entrusted that camera to photographer Dawn Kish, who carried it back into Glen Canyon to create a remarkable contemporary body of work documenting a landscape few imagined they would ever see again. Together, Jackson and Kish co-curated "Glen Canyon Exposed: Then + Now," pairing Tad's historic photographs with Dawn's contemporary images in a visual conversation across generations.

Throughout the evening, Richard and Dawn will share the friendships, artistry, and collaboration behind the exhibition. Craig Childs will place the story within the broader landscape of the Colorado Plateau, while Georgie Pongyesva will offer Indigenous perspectives that remind us Glen Canyon's story extends far beyond modern history, remaining deeply connected to living cultures and traditions.

"Get lost in the creative beauty of Glen Canyon Exposed," writes Craig Childs. "The story of Glen Canyon keeps changing, from Tad Nichols' documentation, to Dawn Kish's, to how the canyon is folding and unfolding today... If you're not there in person, the next best is coming up close to these photographs and feeling the grain of sandstone with your
eyes."

Thursday, September 3, 2026 | Doors open at 5:30 PM

Tickets: https://johnwesleypowell.betterworld.org/events/celebration-glen-canyon-exposed
Event page: https://johnwesleypowell.com/a-celebration-of-glen-canyon-exposed/

For media inquiries, please contact Zanna Stutz (Glen Canyon Institute, Program Director, zanna@glencanyon.org) and/or Janet Smoak (Museum, Executive Director, jwpdirector@gmail.com)