As an expression of regional history, Kirkwood Roots is different. Through February 26, 2012, the Missouri History Museum presents this installation of images, objects, and interviews exploring the history and culture of the African American community in Kirkwood, Missouri. The strong social ties and values of these people, exhibited here as they were from a period prior to the Civil War until shortly after World War II, were formed in a largely rural environment, among fields, woods, and streams. A priority for the Kirkwood Roots project was to represent this community’s way of life in an evocative manner worthy of the value and relevance that it holds for us all. Read more »

From over two years of research and preparation, a small but important exhibit was developed at the Missouri History Museum. Kirkwood Roots is an artful installation of interviews, photos, and evocative objects exploring the historic African American community in Kirkwood, Missouri, a small municipality located about 14 miles west of downtown St. Louis. It’s an intimate portrait of this place, from the first settlement before the Civil War to the period of intensive suburban development following World War II. Read more »

Recently the Missouri History Museum opened a multimedia installation, Kirkwood Roots, that explores the historic African American community in Kirkwood, Missouri. From the first settlement before the Civil War to the period of intensive suburban development following World War II, African Americans lived in a cohesive community composed of 11 separate and identifiable neighborhoods in an area that is part of today’s Kirkwood. A major component of the exhibit is made up of interviews in which people share their memories about Kirkwood. Read more »

The exhibition Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art opens on Saturday, February 12, 2011, at the Missouri History Museum. On February 10 a blessing ceremony was conducted, partly in Osage, by leaders of the Osage Nation. Eddy Red Eagle and Vann Bighorse came up from Oklahoma to celebrate the works on display. The Osage conduct ceremonies for many of life’s events, happy or sad. The traditions are learned from elders, never written but captured in the hearts of the Indians.

Dr. Robert R. Read more »

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Rome. Paris. Florence. Japan.
The names may sound exotic, but all can be found right here in Missouri.

After talking to a friend who didn’t seem excited about an upcoming trip to Mexico, St. Louis photographer Nancy Bridges discovered that Missouri is home to a number of towns named after international locales. Read more »

You probably have heard the exciting news that the exhibit Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art is opening at the Missouri History Museum on May 15, 2010. But did you know that other treasures from the Vatican have been displayed in St. Louis before? In 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (LPE), or St. Louis World’s Fair, many works of art were featured in the Vatican Exhibit in the Anthropology Building. The Fair’s president, David R. Read more »

In February 1992, Katherine Dunham—humanist, activist, anthropologist, dancer, and innovative teacher—was 82 years old. The year before, following a government coup, thousands of Haitians had attempted a perilous three-day, 600-mile crossing to the United States, only to be turned back or interned.  It was this treatment of the Haitian people that spurred Miss Dunham to undertake a hunger strike that would last 47 days and end only after personal pleas from ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Read more »