Exhibition: Thank You Please Come Again

Overview

Thank You Please Come Again features twenty-two photographs that document photojournalist Kate Medley’s ten-year journey through the heart of the American South. Medley’s images focus on roadside service stations and convenience stores that double as eateries—or, in the words of Mississippi-born writer Kiese Laymon, “restaurants that serve gas.” Through everyday interactions at these uniquely Southern institutions—which often function as both grocery stores and community hubs in rural areas—Medley captures the region’s local color and evolving cultures.

This exhibition coincides with the release of Medley’s book Thank You Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South (Bitter Southerner, 2023), which reproduces the complete photographic series alongside essays by Medley and Kiese Laymon, acclaimed author from Jackson and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Rice University.

The related publication will be available for sale in The Museum store and online.

Thank You Please Come Again is made possible through the generous support of Donna and Jim Barksdale, Claudia and Robert Hauberg, Ouida and Wayne Drinkwater, Susan and Macy B. Hart, John and Morella Henegan, The Hildebrand Family, Beverly and Bill Painter, Southern Foodways Alliance, Center for Study of Southern Culture, and Frances Jean and Walter Neely.