Helena – On Thursday, September 29, the Delta Cultural Center will host a reception for its latest traveling exhibit, entitled Arkansas Delta, Agriculture and Community in Transition, 1920 – 1980: An Oral History. The reception will be held from 5 – 7 p.m. at the Delta Cultural Center Depot, located at 95 Missouri Street in historic downtown Helena. The reception is free and open to the public.

On loan from the Arkansas State University - Delta Studies Center, the exhibit captures the heart of the Delta region through the voices of its people. In 1998, Delta Studies Center interviewers traveled to 17 Eastern Arkansas counties to conduct over 106 interviews with people who experienced various aspects of the Delta during a 60-year period.

Peggy R. Wright, director of the Delta Studies Center and Dr. Brady Banta, director of Archives and Special Collections at the Dean B. Ellis Library at ASU, served as co-managers of the project.

The exhibit will be displayed through October. Funding for the project was provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, under the auspices of the East Arkansas Resource Conservation and Development Council, with additional support from Congressman Marion Berry. Arkansas State University provided in-kind and matching funds for the project.

The Delta Cultural Center shares the vision of all seven agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage--to preserve and promote Arkansas heritage as a source of pride and satisfaction. Other agencies within the department are the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Arkansas Arts Council and the Natural Heritage Commission. ###

Press Room