New photography exhibit conveys the power of play for adults and children alike

CORALVILLE — Play time, as it turns out, is serious business.

It may not be studious, solemn, academic or even practical. But in a world sometimes focused on the wrong benchmarks, fun and games play a powerful role in human development — no matter your age.

A traveling photography exhibit now on display at The Iowa Children’s Museum shows how childlike joy transcends borders, race, socioeconomic status and other demographics across the world.

“Potential Space: A Serious Look at Child’s Play” by acclaimed photographer Nancy Richards Farese demonstrates how children have played in 14 countries over a period of 16 years — even after severe trauma and tragedy. It’s the exhibit’s first appearance in Iowa and one of the first in the country ahead of a schedule booked through 2026.

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“I was always brought in to photograph trauma and adaptation, how people were dealing with incredible, horrific violence they suffered. Yet, if I turned around or listened, I would hear kids playing all around me, even in the most dire circumstances,” the photographer said. “You’d see kids making these elaborate kites out of strings and bags, sliding down hills of mud, playing games.”

“It seemed to me there was a lesson there for adults. We’ve forgotten about the essential quality of play. Why do we undervalue it?”

How it happened

The collection began as Farese was commissioned by nongovernmental organizations in the early 2000s. Starting with photos of refugees settling into Oakland, California, and the Lost Boys of Sudan in Kenyan refugee camps, she quickly noticed a joy in the background of tragedy through her lens.

“I became interested in this inherent and essential quality of how children turn to play and help them feel human again against the background of trauma,” she said.

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Over the years, as her work continued with CARE International and the United Nations Commission of Refugees, she saw it over and over again — resilience, adaptation, connection and social development bolstered through fun and joy, despite difficulty.

In Ethiopia, children with painted bodies walk down the road in stilts. In Haiti, three weeks after a devastating earthquake where “the smell and feeling of death were very much present,” children frolic on the beach playing water games.

One girl smiles as snow falls in front of her for what appears to be the first time — the flakes in crisp focus at the photo’s foreground. A group of boys run tires like hoops through the sandy dirt outside a United Nations refugee camp. Another girl offers a look of focus as she twirls a rainbow ribbon.

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Why it matters

All of it, Farese said, is against the backdrop of a world that seems to be growing more chaotic.

“This is an emotional toolbox we’re walking around with, but don’t get the space to use. … I like this notion of what makes us most human,” she said. “Often, we get there through play. It may be more important than ever after trauma.”

The photographer’s book by the same name as the exhibit explores the concept of “potential space.” The term, coined by psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott, is the place humans inhabit between their inner and outer worlds, where creativity and resilience are born and sustained.

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Advancement in creativity, art, academia and more come from expanding potential space by taking risks and trying new things, Farese said. But in a society hyper-focused on productivity, free play in America is on the decline.

“We’re so focused on this notion of keeping our kids on a track of progress that we don’t let go of them enough to allow this kind of free play space, and the nurturing that happens in free play,” she said.

That’s a drum the Iowa Children’s Museum has been beating for years. Having a new way — and a new voice — to demonstrate it prompted the museum to make space for the traveling exhibit as a new feature of the museum.

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“These are the kinds of things we talk about all the time — the critical importance of play for healthy development in children,” said Jeff Capps, executive director of the museum. “The universality of play has its own language that transcends verbal language.”

Getting the message through to busy adults can be a challenge. Play, for many has taken second place to the more practical errands of life. Children are told they can play or do a fun activity after they do their chores or homework — not the other way around.

Play is the work of childhood, Capps said. But it shouldn’t stop when you turn 18.

He hopes adults examine the message through dozens of photos as an opportunity not just for their kids, but for them.

“I think it’s emblematic, this notion that as soon as I get this huge project done, I’ll take time to play my guitar,” he said. “You can endlessly put that off until it’s too late.”

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Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.