‘Always Lost, A Meditation on War’ WNC exhibit to show at Nevada Legislature

Western Nevada College’s creative writing/photographic exhibition about the costs of war, “Always Lost: A Meditation on War,” will be on display in the Legislative Building’s second-floor atrium on weekdays from Wednesday through May 3.

Project manager Amy Roby said she is pleased it will be on display in Carson City.

“It is fitting that this project, which originated in Carson City and has been traveling across our nation since fall 2010, will be shared with Nevadans in such a special place,” she said in a news release.

An opening ceremony for the exhibit is set for 1 p.m. Wednesday and will include remarks by Mayor Robert Crowell, Nevada Senate Majority Leader Moises Denis, Nevada Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick and Caleb Cage, executive director of the Nevada Office of Veterans Services.

The exhibition began as a creative-writing class assignment at WNC in 2009 It was based on an idea by sociology professor Don Carlson, who observed that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were perhaps the most impersonal that the United States has ever fought.

That developed into a long-term effort by English professor Marilee Swirczek and her students to personalize the costs of war through words and images.

At the heart of the exhibition is the Wall of the Dead, which depicts the faces and names of the more than 6,500 service men and women who have died in those wars since Sept. 11, 2001.

The images, combined with writings by the students and other Northern Nevadans, and combat photos used with permission from The Dallas Morning News, comprise the exhibit.

The exhibit is free and will be open to the public weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours might be extended if the Legislature is in session after regular business hours. Inquiries about extended hours may be addressed at 775-684-6800.