USU's Bringing War Home Project to Tour State With America250 Exhibit

SALT LAKE CITY — “The Pen Is Mightier: Writing a Revolution,” an America250 Utah exhibit commemorating the nation’s Semiquincentennial, opened Jan. 30 at the Utah State Capitol with contributions from Utah State University’s Bringing War Home project. The exhibit, which will travel to more than two dozen locations across Utah through 2026, highlights how communication and written expression shaped the American Revolution and connects those themes to modern stories of military service.

USU faculty, students and alumni partnered with exhibition designer Gail Griswold to integrate stories and objects from the Bringing War Home (BWH) archive into the statewide showcase. The NEH-funded BWH project documents the memories and materials shared by veterans and military families, preserving them in a digital archive to deepen public understanding of modern war.

Griswold said the project’s inclusion added a vital Utah voice to the exhibit’s themes.

“My challenge was to connect 21st-century Utahns to an exhibition about the American Revolution and give visitors a feeling of patriotic pride not only in 1776, but also in 2026,” she said.

For USU student Morgan Meyers and alum Karissa Krievins, contributing to the exhibit was a defining academic and professional experience.

“I got to learn the process that comes with creating an exhibition,” said Meyers, a drawing and painting student earning a museum studies certificate who had the opportunity to practice writing and designing for a specific audience. “It taught me that this is what I want to do in the future,” she said.

Krievins, a graduate of USU’s history and art history programs and a mixed-media artist for the project, said the hands-on work has contributed to her career success.

“Over the past few years, I’ve worked on several exhibitions, but the Bringing War Home project is especially close to my heart,” she said. “This project opened doors for me after graduate school … and has kept me connected to academic and research-based work.”

Bringing War Home Co-founders Assistant Professor of Anthropology Molly Cannon and Professor of History Susan Grayzel noted that student involvement has strengthened both the project and the exhibit, which ties historical and contemporary object stories together.

“The stories that are featured highlight the power of objects as communication tools, sharing stories and making connections across generations,” Cannon said.

After its debut at the capitol, the exhibit will travel to museums, libraries and community centers from Hyrum to Springdale through 2026. Organizers say the extended schedule will create additional opportunities for Utahns to engage with the Bringing War Home project by contributing their own wartime stories or objects.

“Honoring the men and women featured in Bringing War Home creates common ground,” Griswold said. “The exhibit unites us in the patriotic pride and gratitude we feel for those who serve.”

A full schedule of “The Pen Is Mightier” tour is available at https://america250.utah.gov/exhibit/.To learn more about the Bringing War Home project or participate by sharing a story or object, visit https://www.usu.edu/mountainwest/bringing-war-home/.

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