Three of Mobile’s largest museums have joined forces on a new exhibition celebrating the artistry behind the city’s signature celebration, marking a milestone anniversary for one of the participating institutions.
“The Art and Design of Mardi Gras” brings together pieces from the Mobile Museum of Art, the Mobile Carnival Museum and the History Museum of Mobile, timed to coincide with the art museum’s 50th anniversary. The exhibition opened with a Golden Gala Birthday Bash fundraiser before welcoming the public for a free Family Festival, running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. over the following weekend, with the full exhibit remaining on view into the spring.
Mobile Museum of Art Executive Director Deborah Velders said the idea to build the anniversary exhibit around Mardi Gras came together after she moved to the city in 2012 and was introduced to the celebration’s traditions by a friend, architect and Carnival Museum volunteer docent Craig Roberts. In an essay written for a companion book produced alongside the exhibition, Velders said she was struck by “the creative industry that fueled every aspect of these revels,” pointing to generations of local designers and artists behind Mobile’s floats, costumes, jewels and other Carnival pageantry.
To build out the collection, Velders turned to Judi Gulledge, executive director of both the Mobile Carnival Museum and the Mobile Carnival Association, and David Alsobrook, executive director of the History Museum of Mobile. The history museum alone contributed more than 400 items, according to Alsobrook, including trains, crowns, scepters and ball memorabilia, some more than a century old and donated over the years by longtime Mobile families.
“While the art museum can provide the funding, space and expertise, they didn’t have the goods to display,” Gulledge said of the partnership, describing the joint effort as a chance to “pool resources” for a bigger project than any single museum could mount alone.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson was set to formally open the exhibition with remarks kicking off the Family Festival weekend. In written comments, Stimpson said he was glad to see the three institutions collaborating, calling it a trend the city has encouraged since he took office, and one he hopes will continue producing new exhibits “for our citizens and visitors.”
A companion book, also titled “The Art and Design of Mardi Gras,” was available for $19.95 at gift shops connected to all three museums. Organizers said the exhibition offers a rare, unified look at more than three centuries of Mobile Carnival tradition, spotlighting the volunteers, artists and craftspeople whose work usually stays behind the scenes.