The Smithsonian arrives in Alabama

On a warm summer evening in Sylacauga, Alabama, more than 200 residents gathered to celebrate a momentous occasion — the opening of SPARK: Places of Innovation, a Smithsonian traveling exhibit, right there in Sylacauga’s Isabel Anderson Comer Museum and Arts Center.

The evening of June 26 represented nearly a year of preparation for the Comer Museum. It also offered a unique opportunity for Sylacauga to come together as a community and consider their shared past and future.

“The Comer Museum had such a clear vision for hosting this exhibit,” says Laura Anderson, director of partnerships and outcomes for the Alabama Humanities Alliance. “They have gathered Sylacauga-area residents around the notion that innovation is at the heart of their community’s shared future — not imagining whether they will encourage innovation, but in how many ways.”

From now through spring 2026, SPARK! Places of Innovation will tour six towns across the state — Sylacauga, Dothan, Brewton, Uniontown, Athens, and Fort Payne. Each host venue will make the exhibit its own — complementing SPARK!’s national perspective with local programming and conversations that reflect their towns.

The idea is to explore the people, places, and ideas that have always ignited innovation in our rural communities — and inspire us all to consider how we can shape our communities moving forward.

SPARK! comes to Alabama courtesy of a longtime partnership between the Alabama Humanities Alliance (AHA) and the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street. The exhibit’s statewide tour is made possible thanks to the generous support of a pair of sponsors, Innovate Alabama and The Daniel Foundation of Alabama.

“At Innovate Alabama, we believe innovation isn’t limited to city centers or tech corridors — it’s rooted in every corner of our state, including rural communities,” says Cynthia Crutchfield, CEO of Innovate Alabama. “That’s why we’re proud to support SPARK! as it travels across Alabama, highlighting the creativity and problem-solving that have long shaped our state’s story. This exhibit reflects our mission to foster innovation and entrepreneurship statewide and shows what’s possible when we invest in local ideas and talent.”

Learn more about SPARK!: alabamahumanities.org/spark.

SPARK! 2025-2026 Tour Dates

SYLACAUGA: THROUGH JULY 19, 2025
Isabel Anderson Comer Museum & Arts Center

DOTHAN: Aug. 1-31, 2025
Landmark Park

BREWTON: Sept.23-Oct. 23, 2025
Brewton City Hall

UNIONTOWN: Nov. 11-Dec. 13, 2025
Renaissance Center (C.H.O.I.C.E. Uniontown)

ATHENS: Jan. 3-Feb. 10, 2026
Athens-Limestone County Public Library

FORT PAYNE: Feb. 20-March 25, 2026
Fort Payne Coal & Iron Building (Landmarks of DeKalb County)

As SPARK! tours the state, the Alabama Humanities Alliance will offer a public info session at each stop, promoting local humanities programming and grantmaking opportunities. In Sylacauga, AHA presents “Get the Scoop” on July 16 at the B.B. Comer Memorial Library.

SPARK!-inspired teacher workshop and community reception

AHA also offered a SPARK!-inspired teacher workshop in Sylacauga, June 24-25, presented in partnership with Design Alabama. More than 30 educators came from across Alabama to consider new ways to ignite their own students’ imaginations.

“One of the reasons this workshop was so fantastic is that it was community-centered, locally connected to the place where it was offered,” says LaVerne McDonald, an educator in Talladega County. “Sylacauga and its mill village are where I grew up. Six generations of my family over time sharecropped, worked at the mill, experienced the loss of the mill and the loss of community that comes with it, and continued to call this area home. Innovations highlighted in this workshop make me optimistic for the future of the community and its youth.”

Indeed, highlighting local community-building was core to the Comer Museum and Arts Center’s plan for hosting SPARK!. During the exhibit’s opening reception, attendees didn’t just view the Smithsonian traveling exhibit — they also got a tour of the town’s former Avondale Mill’s site to consider its past, present, and future.

For more than a century, the mill was central to The Marble City’s identity and economy. In 2006, Avondale closed its doors; five years later, a lightning strike burned down the deserted plants. Residents wondered if the town could survive the loss.

Today, the former Avondale Mills site is transforming into the home of the East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub (EARTH). This transformative and innovative workforce development program, physically rooted in the town’s rich history, will help East Alabamians prepare for careers and industries that might not even exist yet.

“SPARK! is such a wonderful exhibit for us to host right now,” says Judy Green, director of the Comer Museum and Arts Center. “Everyone who came to SPARK!’s opening reception got to tour the new site and see 3-D renderings of what could rise from the ashes there. This is an exciting time and SPARK! helps us all continue to consider new ideas and solutions for our shared future here in Sylacauga.”

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About the AHA-Smithsonian partnership
Since 1997, the Alabama Humanities Alliance has brought more than a dozen Smithsonian traveling exhibits to smaller towns statewide — nearly 70 communities, and counting. Alabamians who might never have the chance to visit Smithsonian museums in our nation’s capital are treated to museum-quality exhibits right here in their home communities. AHA works in partnership with the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street and Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. alabamahumanities.org/spark

About Innovate Alabama
Innovate Alabama is Alabama’s first statewide public-private partnership focused on entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation, with a mission to help innovators grow roots here in Alabama. Innovate Alabama was established to implement the initiatives and recommendations set forth in the Alabama Innovation Commission’s report, including smart policy solutions that will create a more resilient, inclusive, and robust economy to remain competitive in a 21st-century world. With founding CEO Cynthia Crutchfield leading the charge, Innovate Alabama includes a board of 11 innovation leaders appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey, collaborating across sectors to advance industries, drive technology, and facilitate an environment where innovation and entrepreneurship thrive. innovatealabama.org

About The Daniel Foundation of Alabama
The Daniel Foundation of Alabama’s mission is to strengthen communities within Alabama and improve the quality of life for citizens from all regions of Alabama. We believe this can be achieved through support of effective organizations that are focused on building a healthy and well-educated population, living in a vibrant community. danielfoundationofalabama.com