Missouri Botanical Garden will hold New Museum

exhibition – Kernels of Culture: Maize Around the World

The Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, located at the Missouri Botanical Garden, is highlighting the significant role maize has played in agriculture, scientific development, and culture at its latest exhibition – Kernels of Culture: Maize Around the World. 

Through the exhibition, the Garden hopes to give visitors a deeper scientific and cultural understanding of this familiar plant while examining how it could impact the future of agriculture.

“The Garden is very proud to present this new exhibition on Maize, exploring many aspects of its botany, history, evolution, culture and importance to the world,” said Garden President Peter Wyse Jackson. “

   The exhibition will open on Friday, May 3 and will remain at the Sachs Museum through March. The Sachs Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is included in Garden admission.

About the exhibition:

Commonly referred to as corn in the United States, maize has been a staple of agriculture throughout the world for several centuries and is now one of the three largest global food crops. In Kernels of Culture: Maize Around the World, the Sachs Museum will be taking a closer look at how this familiar food has evolved over the past several thousand years. Through historic maize specimens and contemporary scientific research, Museum Curator Nezka Pfeifer plans to illustrate the botanical and cultural evolution of maize and how this plant plays a role in the future of crop diversity and food sovereignty.

“A key element of the Kernels of Culture exhibition is the direct relationship maize and humans have had for thousands of years. It was the ingenuity of ancient Central Americans who figured out that the teosinte grass, the wild ancestor to modern-day maize, could be hybridized again and again to be grown for desirable traits, such as bigger and softer kernels and developed a cob that could hold hundreds of kernels to be used for food,” Pfeifer explained.

The exhibition will also examine maize’s cultural impact by featuring historic objects and stories from diverse communities including Black and Indigenous farmers, whiskey distillers, jewelry makers, and over 200 local student artists. Garden supporter Nancy Ridenour sponsored the unique art commissions by local artists Waleska Font and Megan Singleton that focus on different aspects of maize.

The Sachs Museum Performance Series, also supported by Nancy Ridenour, features four sets of local performers. Each set of two performances takes place at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturdays, when the Garden offers free admission until noon for St. Louis City and County citizens with proof of residency. All performances take place at the Sachs Museum and are about 30-45 minutes in duration.

June 29, 2024: “The Sacred Crop” with exhibition artist Waleska Font spoken poetry performance with music by Patrick Rafferty, guitarist

August 10, 2024: “A Corn-Fed Musical Comedy Performance” (outdoors weather permitting) by Opera Bell Band will present a musical show inspired by the history of corn in the Midwest United States, featuring original songs and comedy routines

September 21, 2024: “Harmonies of the Andes” by the musical ensemble Intillajta (“land of the sun” in the Quechua language) explores the authentic sounds of the Andean mountain region, featuring a lineup of traditional instruments that include the Charango, Sikus (Andean panpipes), Quena (Andean flute), and Andean drums. October 12, 2024: “Appropriation: The Spanish Guitar, Maize, and the New World” is a program of Spanish guitar music featuring Renaissance and Baroque guitar presented by guitarist Patrick Rafferty

For more information on the exhibitions and the Museum, please visit mobot.org/museum.

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