How Many Roads

“How Many Roads: Bob Dylan and his Changing Times, 1961–1964,” highlighting the artist’s growing political awareness, including the civil rights and anti-war movements of the early 1960s, is now on display at the Bob Dylan Center.

Among the numerous elements featured in the exhibition are never-before-seen photographs and ephemera from the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, and rare footage and photographs from the renowned 1963 March on Washington and historic 1963 voter registration drive in Greenwood, Mississippi.

The exhibition examines the seminal moments of Bob Dylan’s early career, and chronicles the artist’s meteoric ascent from an obscure musician to the era’s most revered songwriter. Central to this exploration are influential figures that helped shape Dylan’s trajectory, including Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Theodore Bikel and Len Chandler.

“At the heart of the exhibit lies Dylan’s music, breathing life into the historical events that birthed these lyrical masterpieces,” said Sr. Director of Archives and Exhibitions Mark Davidson. “Rare photographs, compelling film footage and archival materials converge to evoke the era’s essence, where Dylan’s compositions were inspired by the Cuban Missile Crisis, the looming threat of nuclear devastation, and the tragic racially motivated deaths of Hattie Carroll, Medgar Evers and Emmett Till.”