An art exhibit commemorating Taylor’s second-oldest building is now open to the public.
The Helena’s Time Art Gallery, a panorama of quotes and pictures wrapping around the stairwell of Helena Memorial Hall, recounts how the building survived two fires and served multiple roles before becoming the Boren Art Gallery (BAG) in 2022.
The exhibit, which opened on April 23, was designed by senior Hayden Monteith, a graphic design major, and uses archival photos and quotes sourced by Keira Martin, a junior public history major. The project was completed as part of both students’ practicums, Martin said.
The exhibit is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, or by appointment on Mondays and Fridays.
Martin and Monteith started working on the project in February after Mark Masuoka, director of the BAG and assistant professor of art, had the idea to spruce up what was then a plain stairwell.
“His vision was to honor that history and the ways it shaped the Taylor community,” Monteith said. “So, it started as Keira's project (and) once she had the information, I joined and got to do the design.”
The exhibit lists the dates of events in chronological order, beginning at the bottom of the stairwell with the building’s 1911 founding and ending at the top floor with its rebranding in 2022. The quotes and pictures were printed onto the wall in black vinyl, creating a seamless flow between building and history, Masuoka said.
In 191,1 the building was completed with funds donated by Helena Gehman in honor of her late husband, the Rev. R. W. Gehman. Helena started out as an all-purpose building, with the basement, first and second floor respectively serving as a gymnasium, an academic wing and a chapel auditorium.
By 1915, the building was serving as the headquarters of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union under Culla Vayhinger, before becoming a meeting place for student clubs, including the Holiness League and the Women’s Debating Club. Helena was host to revivals and missionary conventions, says one quote; another describes it as a “noisy” and “precious” place, a hub of student flourishing.
Helena was in its latest restyling as a music hall when faulty wiring caused it to burn down in 1972, destroying two pipe organs and thirteen grand pianos, according to the exhibit. A second fire tore through Helena in 1987, prompting then-President Jay Kesler to rebuild it as office space for the president and provost, as well as administration and admissions.
Helena opened its doors as the BAG in 2022.
Each part of the exhibit is designed with the viewer in mind: the photos and quotes were arranged to be seen at eye level as one walks up the staircase, Masuoka said. Masuoka, whose mother was a history teacher, was enriched by the experience of connecting Taylor history to art history.
“It’s fascinating because of all the things that happened,” he said, adding that he hoped visitors would be inspired by the persistence of those who thought the building was “important and worth saving.”
Similarly, Monteith said the exhibit is designed to exude the sense of persistence and unity that should form the moral backbone of every believer.
“No matter where we are on campus, even in unexpected places like a stairwell, we are all one body under God… and can endure anything together,” she said.
Walking up the staircase with the afternoon light slanting through the high windows and washing over the white walls, the exhibit’s founding quote, written by Kathi Strong in 1989, stands out in stark black lettering: “Today she stands strong and stately, emanating a sense of having persevered all weather imaginable, easily becoming a symbol of permanence.”
