Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities

The Museum

The Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities (KDCAH) has remained space centered in the immersion of Dunham material culture. Located in the East Saint Louis, Illinois historical district, the museum is a definite pathway to drive conversion and Dunham content on line. Originally opening up in 1970, the museum includes a carriage house used for rehearsals, an outdoor African village and performance stage. The space serves as an act of service to Black Indigenous People of Color ( BIPOC) in the Midwest and beyond.

The collection is a demonstration of diasporic scholarship which includes Dunham’s performance costumes, drum collection as well as global artifacts. Dunham’s goal with the space was to position tangible and intangible material culture as an educational repository. As a result one of the most important collections in the museum is the Dunham’s private collection of books, most of which are first editions. Her interests expanded from Latin America, to fine art and world history culture serving as an integral part to her life long contributions to anthropological research, community engagement and humanitarian work.