“Passages” exhibit closing Sunday at Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Ron Hambrick listens to an iPod Touch audio tour as he views the "Passages" exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art on Monday, Sept. 19. The exhibit that tells the history of the King James Bible will end its run at the museum on Sunday. (Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman)
From Friday’s The Oklahoman. To read more about what’s going on this weekend at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, click here.
“Passages” runs through weekend at Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
The vast exhibit of rare biblical artifacts and manuscripts is nearing the end of its world premiere run.
Dottie Liwai wasn’t about to let a historic event pass her by when it was right in her home state, so last week, she and her family made the trek from Durant to Oklahoma City to see the “Passages” exhibit.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” the mother of two said, standing amid cases of ancient biblical texts. “Everybody should see it. It’s who we are.”
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is preparing for a huge crowd this weekend for the closing weekend of “Passages,” the nonsectarian, worldwide traveling exhibition of The Green Collection, among the world’s newest and largest private collections of rare biblical manuscripts and artifacts.
The collection is named for the Green family, founder-owners of Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby, who opted to launch the world premiere of the exhibit in their hometown.
More than 50,000 people have visited “Passages” since it opened in May, said Leslie Spears, the museum’s communications manager. The exhibit, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, closes Sunday at the downtown museum. It next is headed to St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
“It’s turned out to be a huge success on so many levels. We’ll always consider Oklahoma City our home because this is where it started,” said Scott Carroll, director of The Green Collection. “It’s been very gratifying to be here. It’s a wonderful museum.”
“Passages” spans 2,000 years to tell the story of the translation and publication of the Bible in English. The 14,000-square-foot multimedia exhibit takes up the museum’s entire third floor and features rarities such as a portion of the Gutenberg Bible and a first-edition King James Bible from 1611, animatronics of historical figures such as Queen Anne Boleyn and St. Jerome, replicas of the Gutenberg and King James presses, and more.
Taking her second tour of the exhibit, Dawn Hardy of Yukon was thrilled to see a Dead Sea Scroll fragment, watch workers print pages on the old-fashioned presses and listen to lifelike video figures of two medieval women talk about their wish for a Bible they could read in their own language.
“It just speaks to the importance that the Bible has to us on a personal level,” said Hardy, a member of Westgate Christian Assembly in Yukon. “It’s so comprehensive. It’s such an assortment of items, it just fascinates me.”
For Edmond resident Luther Blissett, touring the exhibit appealed to him as a person of faith and a student of history.
“I’m interested in history generally, and so the process involved in something passing down several centuries is intriguing to me,” said Blissett, a Baptist who has visited Istanbul and the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey. “You don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate it.”
For Liwai’s two children — son Maika, 13, and daughter Kai, 9 — “Passages” was an eye-opening educational experience. As the family, who is Presbyterian, followed the exhibit’s scavenger hunt and iPod audio tour, the youngsters were amazed to discover that people like William Tyndale actually died in their quest to translate the Bible into English.
“You learn more about the history of your faith, about the Bible and its languages,” said their father, Jack Liwai. “But it’s for everybody, for people of all walks of life.”
ON EXHIBIT
“Passages”
When: Through Sunday.
Where: Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive.
Tickets: $19.95 for adults and $11.95 for ages 6-18. Seniors age 62 and older pay $16.95, and military pay $10. College students with ID pay $14.95. Multiday tickets and group tickets are available.
Information: 236-3100, www.okcmoa.com or www.explorepassages.com.
-BAM
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