Current Exhibits
The Global Language of HeadwearMarch 15, 2024 - June 7, 2024
The Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage, and Spirituality is a traveling exhibition that features 87 hats and headdresses from 42 countries. It is a tribute to the stunning diversity of the world’s cultures. More than utilitarian objects, each hat is a work of art, not merely due to the skill required to make it, but also as an expression of creativity and meaning. The exhibition is organized into five thematic sections: Cultural Identity; Power, Prestige, and Status; Ceremonies and Celebrations; Spiritual Beliefs; and Protection. Hats and headdresses communicate timeless ideas—not only of beauty, but also of what it means to be human. This exhibition will be on view from March 15, 2024 - June 7, 2024.
PRESS KIT
The Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage, and Spirituality was jointly organized by Stacey W. Miller and International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.
International Arts & Artists in Washington, DC, is a nonprofit arts service organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally, through exhibitions, programs and services to artists, arts institutions and the public. Visit ArtsandArtists.org.
Clotilda: The Exhibition at Africatown Heritage HouseJuly 08, 2023 - May 31, 2028
In March 2020, the History Museum of Mobile announced a partnership with the Alabama Historical Commission, Mobile County Commission, and the City of Mobile to create a landmark exhibition at the under-construction Africatown Heritage House. Located in the heart of historic Africatown, the Heritage House is adjacent to the Mobile County Training School and the Robert L. Hope Community Center. The History Museum of Mobile operates Africatown Heritage House as a fourth museum site, which is located at 2465 Winbush St. Mobile, AL 36610.
Clotilda: The Exhibition covers the story of the Clotilda with a special focus on the people of the story - their individuality, their perseverance, and the extraordinary community they established. The exhibition tells the story of the 110 remarkable men, women and children, from their West African beginnings, to their enslavement, to their settlement of Africatown, and finally the discovery of the sunken schooner, all through a combination of interpretive text panels, documents, and artifacts. The pieces of the Clotilda that have been recovered from the site of the wreck are on display in the exhibition, on loan from the Alabama Historical Commission. The exhibition was curated, developed, and designed in conjunction with the local community and the wider descendent community, and in consultation with experts around the country.
The exhibition itself –about 2,500 square feet – is a rich, multi-sensory space, dense with compelling stories and images. Woven into the larger story, visitors can expect to see and hear lots of primary source reports and stories of individuals: their histories, their families, their resilient spirit. Inside the exhibition, visitors can expect a dramatic space and a step-by-step chronology from the story’s West African origins through the founding and development of Africatown. Towards the end of the exhibition, visitors will emerge into a space that looks towards the future of Africatown and invites visitors to respond to what they have seen.
The Mobile County Commission and the City of Mobile have funded the construction of the Africatown Heritage House building, and the History Museum of Mobile curated, constructed, and funded the exhibition.