Two boats, two stories to be told in artists’ works this summer at Jim’s Journey in Hannibal

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Two new boats will be docking in Hannibal this spring. Both are artistic renditions of water vessels representing stories of how history has been impacted by waterways.

First to arrive is a three-dimensional boat crafted from fabric by Quincy artist Ann Miller Titus titled “Paperboat.” Titus was commissioned in the fall of 2023 by designer and illustrator Carlos Zamora to build a boat for his St. Louis visual branding firm, Cartel Strategies. Based on the folded paper boats he made during his childhood in Cuba, Zamora envisioned the paper boat as a metaphor for his immigration journey.

Titus crafted the fabric boat from two five-inch quilted and folded triangles, maintaining the design integrity of the folded paper boat and incorporating symbols reflecting the rivers and prairie surrounding the urban landscape of St. Louis. The paperboat will be exhibited at the Alliance Art Gallery, 121 N. Main, through May 25 and at Jim’s Journey: The Huck Finn Freedom Center from May 26 through June 6.

The second boat, a sculpture by Preston Jackson, will make its way to Hannibal in early June. “Island Freighter” will have a permanent home on the grounds of Jim’s Journey: The Huck Finn Freedom Center at 509 N. Third.

Jackson, a world-renowned painter and sculptor and the recipient of five state public art commissions through the state of Illinois Capital Development Board donated this piece to the museum. He describes the work as an “abstract view of a sailing ship, transporting humans around the globe. Vessels built for human cargo.” The angular pieces of steel suggesting the sails, the hull and the bow, speak to the horrific conditions and brutality aboard the ships of the Middle Passage during which millions of enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas to build this nation.

Museum director Faye Dant met Jackson nearly 10 years ago when her cousin introduced them. She told him about the mission of Jim’s Journey and the role it plays in documenting Hannibal’s history. Jackson visited Hannibal later that summer, and they discussed the possibility of him doing a commission for the museum. However, funding was not available for the type of sculpture Jackson and Dant had in mind.

Several years passed but the idea of installing one of Jackson’s pieces in Hannibal persisted. On Dant’s most recent visit to Jackson’s studio, she was invited to choose a sculpture that he would donate to Jim’s Journey. “Island Freighter” will be readied in Peoria and installed in Hannibal as part of a developing outdoor exhibition space at the local Black history museum.

Both art pieces will be featured in a special Juneteenth event hosted by Jim’s Journey. “A Nation Takes Place: The Central Mississippi River Convening” will be the third of three convenings sponsored by the Minnesota Marine Art Museum exploring the connections between water and nation-building. It’s a gathering of authors, scholars, artists and community leaders who will share their complicated relationships with race and water. The convening will be from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, at 314 S. Main.

For more information about the Convening or the sculptures, contact Dant at 217-617-1507.