TIFTON — Patrons of the Syd throughout the next two weeks will be able to experience lessons of rural wellness, poverty, and a story nearly a century in the making.

The Tifton Council for the Arts is set to open their pop-up exhibit “The Cotton Mill Children,” this weekend, providing their guests a collection of photographs taken by investigator and photographer Lewis Hine of child laborers working at the Tifton Cotton Mill during the early 1900s.

Formed through a collaboration between Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture and historian Joe Manning, the exhibit will offer patrons a look into the conditions and experiences of child workers of the time period — namely those of the Young family.

During the early 1900s, Hine was assigned the task of documenting the child laborer situation by the National Child Labor Committee, dedicating the next decade of his life to traveling across the country to photograph the working conditions of the young workers, including their names.

His work eventually led him to the Tifton Cotton Mill, where, among the photos he took, he captured a snapshot of the life of A.J. Young and her 11 children, all of whom were staffed to work in the mill.

A century later, the photos and story of the Young family would catch the interest of Manning, beginning his search for the history of those children and their descendants between the time of the photos and now that would eventually lead to his collaboration with the Museum of Agriculture.

Nine of these children are featured in the photos of the exhibit, chronicling their story alongside the work of Hine and artifacts from the Tifton Cotton Mill.

Accompanying the exhibit, the arts council will host a one-day symposium, “Divergent Horizons,” Jan. 15, inviting residents to discuss rural health and prosperity as well as the issues of poverty in rural and South Georgia with several guest speakers and take part in a gallery walk.

Arts council executive director Bruce Green will also host a lecture the evening of Jan. 16 to further discuss the stories behind the children of the mill. He has announced that the event will have a special surprise guest related to the exhibit.

The “Cotton Mill Children” exhibit will open the evening of Jan. 6 with a reception at 5 p.m., remaining on display Wednesday through Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. until Jan. 16. For more information about the exhibit or its associated events, contact the Tifton Council for the Arts at admin@tiftonarts.org or visit their website at tiftonarts.org.