SIUE and NMAAHC’s The Smith Center Present “Miles Davis: Modes and Modalities, 1935-1990”
An exhibit featuring one of the most recognizable and talented trumpeters in the world, Miles Davis, will open to the public at the St. Clair County Historical Society on October 2, from 4-6 p.m. The “Miles Davis, Modes, and Modalities, 1935-1990” exhibit offers community members the chance to learn more about the jazz legend with roots in southern Illinois. Prince Wells III, Associate Professor Emeritus of the Department of Music at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, will introduce the program, which is free for attendees.
This is the second event within the Smithsonian Community Curation 2024: St. Louis event series. The Miles Davis Exhibit is part of a larger community curation project collaboratively produced by the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and local institutions and organizations. The exhibit opening will also feature presenters from each of the collaborating parties – NMAAHC, the St. Clair County Historical Society, the House of Miles East St. Louis, SIUE’s Department of Anthropology, and the Lovejoy Library located on the SIUE campus.
Irreducible and indescribable, Miles Davis was a complex individual whose groundbreaking music was continually evolving. This exhibit explores Miles’ engagement with innovative musicians and new technologies, as well as Miles’ personality rooted in his childhood in East St. Louis and tempered by the rapidly changing cultural milieu during the five decades of his musical career. The St. Clair County Historical Society will highlight physical artifacts to accompany the stories and history at the event.
“We are grateful to the Smithsonian’s Center for the Digitization and Curation of African American History for their willingness to expand the focus area beyond St. Louis,” said Tisha Brooks, PhD, associate dean for anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the College of Arts and Sciences and coordinator of SIUE's NMAAHC Community Curation 2024 planning team. “What we hope participants will take away from this collaboration with the NMAAHC is that expanding the accessibility of African American History in the St. Louis region requires the inclusion of communities east of the river, especially East St. Louis, Belleville, Alton, and Edwardsville. Our goal is to encompass the complexity of African American history and culture in the region through the events we’re offering.”
This event hopes to be a catalyst to continue to both expand African American history and culture into the fabric of SIUE and bring together communities on both sides of the Mississippi River.
The St. Clair Historical Society is located at 701 E Washington St, Belleville, IL 62220.
PHOTO: The images of Miles Davis on the graphic have been extracted from diverse sources from family albums to professional photo shoots. They are used here to convey Miles’ multifaceted modes under the fair use doctrine.
