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Higher Ground collection, 1983-2024

Overview of the Collection

Title
Higher Ground collection
Dates
1983-2024 (inclusive)
Quantity
4 Linear feet of shelf space, (4 Boxes)
Collection Number
Cage 970 (collection)
Summary
The Higher Ground collection consists of drawings, photography, prints, ephemera, and objects created or compiled by artists across the Palouse for the 2024 exhibition Higher Ground: An Exhibition of Art, Ephemera, and Form which sought to document queer experiences on the Palouse. The collection also includes a brochure and other interpretive documents.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open and available for research use.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Higher Ground: An Exhibition of Art, Ephemera, and Form was an exhibit located in WSU’s Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections department in Spring and Summer of 2024. The exhibit was co-curated by professor June T. Sanders and Josie Cohen-Rodriguez in collaboration with the LGBTQ+ Center. Higher Ground solicited artwork from the queer community on the Palouse that would “speak to the history of, nuance, and manifestations of queer experience in the area.”

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Content Description

The collection consists of artwork and ephemera contributed by WSU students, faculty, and area community members as well as documents associated with the exhibits including a brochure, call for submissions, and opening remarks. Artworks include mixed media, textiles, drawings, watercolors, photographs, linocut print, digital video, zines, flyers, ephemera, and collected objects.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply and are maintained by the artists. Contact MASC or artists directly with questions about permissions.

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

Higher Ground collection, 1983-2024 (Cage 970)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The objects in this collection are stored, first, according to size in either oversized boxes or letter-sized folders and, second, within boxes alphabetically by artist last name.

Preservation Note

Hardware and software to play .mp4 files required to view one of the artworks in the collection.

Location of Originals

Some items in the collection are reproductions of large-format artwork or posters and graphics that accompanied the exhibition. Originals have been either returned to the artists or, in the case of exhibit posters, thrown away.

Acquisition Information

Collection materials donated directly to MASC or gathered by MASC staff in the wake of the exhibition closing.

Future Additions

Collection accruals possible.

Processing Note

Lotus Norton-Wisla and Simon Rodgers processed this collection in 2024. Additional description by Will Gregg in 2025.

Related Materials

Washington State University Queer Archives Oral History Project, 2023-2024 (Cage 967)

Researchers might wish to consult the WSU Queer Archives libguide for collections related to Queer history on campus and in our region.

Separated Materials

Three oversized items are stored in map cases.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Description: Exhibit guide
    Dates: 2024
    Container: Box 1, Folder 1
  • Description: Remarks read at exhibit opening
    Dates: 2024 April 26
    Container: Box 1, Folder 2
  • Description: Call for submissions
    Dates: 2024
    Container: Box 1, Folder 3
  • Description: Akervall, Miriam - Untitled broadside.

    Text with stamp or block print

    8 1/2" x 11"
    Dates: 2024
    Container: Box 1, Folder 4
  • Description: Akervall, Miriam – poems so far.

    Zine

    8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
    Dates: 2024
    Container: Box 1, Folder 5
  • Description: Akervall, Miriam and Connors, Alex - Open Mic Flyer.

    Flyer

    8 1/2" x 11"
    Dates: 2023
    Container: Box 1, Folder 6
  • Description: Baatz, Keegan - Let's Not Forget.

    Screenprint zine with letterpress type.

    8 1/2" x 11"
    Dates: 2023
    Container: Box 1, Folder 7
  • Description: Connors, Alex - Dispatches from Idaho, volumes 1 and 2.
    5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 8
  • Description: Costa, Bridgette - Collection of stickers including LGBT: gay baseball, Brokeback Palouse and All Kirkers are Bastards.

    Stickers

    3" x 3"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 9
  • Description: Costa, Bridgette - Snake River with first place Palouse Empire Fair blue ribbon.

    Watercolor

    6" x 6"
    Dates: 2022
    Container: Box 1, Folder 10
  • Description: Costa, Bridgette - Swimming Holes of the Palouse.

    Zine

    5" x 8 1/2"
    Dates: 2023
    Container: Box 1, Folder 11
  • Description: Costa, Bridgette - Camping on the Clearwater.

    Polaroid

    3.5" x 2"
    Dates: 2022
    Container: Box 1, Folder 12
  • Description: Duttry, Chlo - Elliot I and Elliot II.

    Film photography

    4" x 5"
    Dates: 2022
    Container: Box 1, Folder 13
  • Description: Haener, Laurence - ARIDIAGRAM.

    Film photography

    4" x 5"
    Dates: 2022
    Container: Box 1, Folder 14
  • Description: Haener, Laurence and Roseweeds, Taylor - Just Apple Pie, a recipe for the Palouse Empire Fair. Accompanied by judges' notes.

    Pen on paper

    5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
    Dates: 2022
    Container: Box 1, Folder 15
  • Description: Haven, Lily - postcard from l. haven.

    Digital collage

    4" x 6"
    Dates: 2024
    Container: Box 1, Folder 16
  • Description: Haven, Lily - rowdiness and rest(rooms).

    Scanned block print and poem

    5 1/2" x 4"
    Dates: 2023
    Container: Box 1, Folder 16
  • Description: Logan-Smith, Alec - Taylor and Yellow Truck.

    Photograph.

    8 1/2" x 11"
    Dates: 2022
    Container: Box 1, Folder 17
  • Description: Mitten, Danielle - Healing.

    Markers and colored pencil

    8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 18
  • Description: Mitten, Danielle - Chances.

    Acrylic and colored pencil

    8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 18
  • Description: Mitten, Danielle - Alter Egos.

    Watercolor and ink

    8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 18
  • Description: Norton-Wisla, Lotus - Driving to Gay Baseball.

    Block print on paper

    5" x 7"
    Dates: 2023
    Container: Box 1, Folder 19
  • Description: O'Farrell, Fran - threshold, a hand-bound collection of four essays.

    Essays

    5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
    Dates: 2019 September - 2020 February
    Container: Box 1, Folder 20
  • Description: Comstock, O. M. and O'Farrell, Fran - two Queer Sewing Circle posters.

    Posters

    5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
    Dates: 2018-2021
    Container: Box 1, Folder 21
  • Description: St. Clair, Sara - Sensing.

    Photograph copy of original. Chalk on moving blanket.

    Original 4.5' x 5.5'
    Dates: 2024
    Container: Box 1, Folder 22
  • Description: Strom, Bryan - Secrets, a book compiled with student submissions.

    Book.

    8 1/8" x 6" x 1/8"
    Dates: 2016
    Container: Box 1, Folder 23
  • Description: Strom, Bryan - Journal.

    Book.

    5" x 7" x 1/2"
    Dates: 2020, undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 24
  • Description: Whitver, Andrew - WSU ID.

    Photographs and ID card

    Dates: 1983-1994, undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 25
  • Description: Cantrell, Mars - Sketchbook of figure drawings.

    Ink, marker, and pen on paper

    9" x 12" x 3/4"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 1, Folder 26
  • Description: Cantrell, Mars - Sundown Triptych.

    Mixed textiles

    15" x 21"
    Dates: 2024
    Container: Box 2, Folder 1-3
  • Description: Costa, Bridgette - "Poetry and Performance" event poster.

    Poster

    Advertisement for a show taking place in a friend's living room.

    Dates: 2017
    Container: Box 2, Folder 4
  • Description: Haener, Laurence - Good Enough for Gov'ment Work.

    Mixed media collage

    15" x 12"
    Dates: 2021
    Container: Box 2, Folder 5
  • Description: Welcome, mary - Prairie People.

    Series of 6 color posters composed from archival quilting samples, local letterpress typeface, and queer landscape slang.

    11" x 17"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 2, Folder 6
  • Description: Welcome, Mary - Our Bodies Beyond.

    Series of 5 color posters composed from public domain celestial beings, personal love letters, and found photos of the Palouse.

    11" x17"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 2, Folder 7
  • Description: Costa, Bridgette - Rednecks against Racism.

    Protest sign displayed on front porch in Moscow, ID for four years.

    16" x 20"
    Dates: 2020
    Container: Box 2, Folder 8
  • Description: Sullivan, Sean - Ball gags.

    Metal

    20"; 6" x 8"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box 3
  • Description: Adkins, Lillian - Eyes Closed on the Butte.

    Sumi ink on paper

    18" x 24"
    Dates: 2023
    Container: Box Oversized, Folder 1
  • Description: Cantrell, Mars - Figure drawings.

    Mixed media on paper

    18" x 24"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box Oversized, Folder 2
  • Description: Cantrell, Mars - Sketchbook of figure drawings.

    Mixed media on paper

    18" x 24"
    Dates: undated
    Container: Box Oversized, Folder 3
  • Description: St. Clair, Sara - Sketch for Summer.

    Video (.mp4)

    Dates: 2023
    Container: Box Digital material

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Art, Modern -- 21st century -- Exhibitions
  • Gay culture -- Whitman County (Wash.) -- Exhibitions
  • Gay people -- Identity -- Exhibitions
  • LGBT activism -- Whitman County (Wash.) -- Exhibitions
  • LGBT community centers -- Whitman County (Wash.) -- Exhibitions
  • Library exhibits -- Washington (State) -- Pullman

Finding aid prepared by Will Gregg.
2025

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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