Smokey The Bear Vintage Poster Exhibition: Deconstructing Smokey

Presented by the Paseo Project and the Disturbance Team: Deconstructing Smokey

Everyone knows Smokey Bear. The hat. The pointing finger. The famous warning that only YOU can prevent forest fires. But after more than 80 years, does Smokey’s message still make sense? Through vintage posters, photographs, maps and artifacts, the free exhibit, “Deconstructing Smokey,” takes a playful and provocative look at how one of America’s most successful campaigns taught generations to fear fire—and what that story left out. The exhibit explores Smokey’s unique connections to northern New Mexico. It also examines his emerging identity crisis in an era of megafires, and a surprising reversal: the future of our forests may depend, in part, on bringing back fire.

Exhibit opening, Friday, October 2 from 5:30 to 7pm
TCA Community Room
Runs through October 6th