Louis Armstrong Museum in Queens opens year-long exhibition “Armstrong in Ghana”

Queens, New York — The Louis Armstrong House Museum opened the exhibition “Armstrong in Ghana” on October 1 at the Louis Armstrong Center, a year-long archival and contemporary art exhibition that follows the global jazz icon on his tours across Africa during the 1950s and 1960s, as iloveny.com reports.

Ghana was a special destination in Armstrong’s life: it is the only African country he returned to more than once. The museum’s 60,000-piece archive includes recordings, photographs and documents from his African tour — including the Gold Coast of the 1950s, in transition from British colonial control to independent Ghana.

The exhibition, curated by executive director Regina Bain, brings together archival objects with works by prominent artists such as Kaloki Nyamai, Aaron Douglas and John Biggers. New commissioned works by Stephen Towns and Rita Mawuena Benissan will also debut, exploring the mutual influence of Armstrong’s travels on the newly independent nation.

Visitors will hear the live recording of Armstrong’s 1956 concert at the Accra Opera House, take part in conversations about the African roots of jazz and see new performances by contemporary artists. After its debut at the Armstrong Center, the exhibition will travel to Accra, with a planned stop at the Nubuke Foundation in autumn 2027.