‘Luminaries of Change’ exhibit to celebrate people who made Manchester better

A new exhibit titled The Luminaries of Change is meant to celebrate Manchester citizens who helped make the town a better place to live.

To be unveiled on June 18 at the Leisure Labs Mahoney Center, the exhibit also is designed to evolve and grow as more local luminaries are nominated.

The exhibit will spotlight historic pioneers, community leaders and political trailblazers, according to an article in the town-published Better Manchester magazine.

The planned installation complements murals painted at the recreation center, including a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr., and was inspired by events of last year, notably the killing of George Floyd, according to the article’s author, Jakob Lopez, diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator for the town’s neighborhoods and families division.

“We know the effects that COVID has left on all of us, as even simple social interaction feels odd at times because of the lack of physical interaction,” Lopez wrote.

“But when everyone across America gathered in the loss of George Floyd, it was magnificent to see that people needed the physical interaction, because what was, and continues to happen, is real,” he wrote. “The fact that Black communities have faced so many years of turmoil and obstruction is real. But the fact that people can come together to create a greater cause is also … real. “

Nominations, however, are not limited to people who fought for racial justice.

“We call the Luminaries of Change a living exhibit,” Lopez wrote, “meaning that we will consistently nominate and add more people to the space on a biennial (every other year) basis. There will always be change needed in this world and we want to be able to give the proper recognition to those who change our Manchester for the better.”

The exhibit is to be located in the L-shaped hallway on the center’s third floor. At the end of the hall will be a Luminaries Selfie Wall, according to Lopez, “where anyone can take a picture and affirm their commitment to be their own luminary.”

Information on how to nominate a person for the exhibit is to be released at a later date.

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com