Opening of “Train of Ink” at Zarrow

The Oklahoma Center for the Humanities will help welcome the new year by reopening the Zarrow Center in the heart of Tulsa’s Arts District. This space has long served as a critical hub for the arts and humanities, both on our campus and in the larger community. Over the next few months, the building will come to life with new exhibitions, exciting partnerships, revitalized learning spaces and a diverse range of public programs.

This process of renewal begins on Jan. 7 with an exhibition titled Train of Ink. The show metaphorically retraces the history of 72 Native American men forcibly taken from Oklahoma, transported by train to Florida, and held captive from 1875 to 1878. There, the U.S. government developed the forced assimilation and re-education methods that were later institutionalized in off-reservation boarding schools.

Organized in conjunction with TU’s School of Art, Design and Art History, this exhibition features the work of 22 Native and non-Native artists who respond to the historical journey of the Fort Marion prisoners through the creation of artwork inspired by prisoner biographies; ledger drawings made by the captives; the topography of the changing landscape of the train route from Oklahoma to Florida; and the legacy of Carlisle boarding school.

For more information on the show and accompanying programming, visit humanities.utulsa.edu.