FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2007

CONTACT:
Michael Johnson, Director of Communications
816-421-1388
michael@maaa.org

Unique History of Purses Opens Mother's Day Weekend at Kansas City Museum
Courtney S. Turner Exhibition Initiative helps bring Pocketbook Anthropolgy to KC

Pocketbook Anthropology: A Treasure of Handbags opens in Kansas City on May 12 at the Kansas City Museum as part of the Courtney S. Turner Exhibition Initiative to bring traveling arts and humanities exhibitions to the Kansas City metropolitan area. The initiative will help Kansas City-area venues host museum-quality traveling exhibitions through December 2009.

While Mid-America Arts Alliance is headquartered in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District, a large number of area institutions do not have the resources to host exhibitions offered through ExhibitsUSA, Mid-America’s traveling exhibitions program. However, a large number of nonprofit museums within a 50-mile radius of Kansas City may be eligible to benefit from the Initiative, including those in areas as far-reaching as Atchison, Kan.
 
“Kansas City boasts many excellent, nationally recognized art collections, but there are still dozens of local museums without the resources needed to bring in new shows and excite public interest,” says Daniel Weary, co-trustee of the Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust. “We’re pleased to fund Mid-America Art Alliance’s vision through the Courtney S. Turner Exhibition Initiative. It will bring dynamic exhibitions to museums with the greatest need and the greatest opportunity to reach new audiences.”

Organized by ExhibitsUSA, Pocketbook Anthropology takes a closer look at handbags as uniquely significant items in today’s society. The exhibitionshowcases 50 purses dating from 1900 to the present day. Visitors will have a chance to view handbags made from a myriad of different materials ranging from cigarette packs to silk to beads to precious metals. There are funky bags, elegant bags, whimsical bags, and utilitarian bags.

On Mother’s Day, May 13, the Kansas City Museum also plans to show pocketbooks from its own collection of historic women’s fashion accessories in an adjacent gallery. Mothers will also enjoy a special performance by Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey at 2:00 p.m.

Pocketbook Anthropology: A Treasure of Handbags is organized and toured by ExhibitsUSA. The purpose of ExhibitsUSA is to create access to an array of arts and humanities exhibitions, nurture the development and understanding of diverse art forms and cultures, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities. ExhibitsUSA is a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1972.

For more information, please contact Andrew Graham at (816) 421-1388, ext. 225.