Many regional museums have free admission throughout the year and host family friendly exhibits. I recently took a trip to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City to view the Hide and Seek, Picturing Childhood photography exhibit. Mysterious, Alluring, disturbing, and hopeful are just a few words I would use to describe such a thought provoking display. Imagination, play, education, and harsh social realities are a few themes represented in Hide and Seek. We look to the past as well as present conditions of childhood, the stories that are preserved over time, and childhood experiences in the making.

Photographer Lewis Hine reminds the viewer of the cruel realities of child labor. In one particular image (dated in the early 1900s) by Hine a little girl is working in a cotton mill on what appears to be a threading machine. In contrast to Hine’s imagery of child labor, “Girl Being Prepared for a Horse Show, Sandwich, NH, 2004” by Sage Sohier represents a childhood that is more familiar to us today. The girl’s expressionless face lets us know that she is used to this kind of attention and doesn’t seem thrilled in the least. One may also wonder what life is like for this girl. Does she get a chance to play, to be a kid?

The most striking photograph of the exhibition is Gloria Baker Feinstein’s, “Boy with Ball” which was shot during the photographer’s stay in Kajjansi, Uganda in 2007. At first glance, one might think the boy is living in a safe and carefree environment. However, upon closer inspection we are reminded of a grim and violent reality of war that has effected so many living in Uganda. The boy represented in this photograph is seemingly unaware of the devastation that surrounds him. I couldn’t help but feel optimistic when viewing “Boy with Ball”. Other photographers in the exhibition are Sally Mann, Helen Levitt, Lewis Carroll, and Ralph Eugene Meatyard. Hide and Seek is an exhibit for all ages stirring curiosity and imagination.

Materials on the following photographers mentioned in this review: Sally Mann, Lewis Carroll, and Lewis Hine are available in the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library’s collection.