05/18/2026
Happy International Museum Day. The International Council of Museums raises awareness that “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples” through this annual holiday.
MESDA’s current exhibition, “Lately From: Immigrants Craftspeople and the Making of the American South,” features objects created by craftspeople whose origins spanned continents and oceans. An Irish schoolmaster. A German Jewish silversmith. An African Muslim scholar. A multi-national female pastelist. A Scottish cabinetmaker. As much as possible, it connects those objects with the words of their makers through letters, inscriptions, autobiographies, account books, advertisements, and even drawings. Together, they tell the story of journeys taken, communities forged in new homes, responses to changing political climates, and the creative blending of traditions into something new. Together, they tell the story of their journeys, their efforts to find community in a new home, how they grappled with changing political climates, and how they combined traditions to create something new.
“Lately From” is on view through December 2026 at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in the Frank L. Horton Museum Center, 924 South Main Street, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included in Old Salem or MESDA ticket, free for members.
