NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana State Museum and the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum Advisory Board has unveiled a new exhibition, Pioneer Skies: From Freedom to Flight, the History of Charles Frederick Page, at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Level 1, behind the Jazz Garden Stage near Baggage Claim. The exhibition will run through September 30, 2024, with a satellite component at the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum Inaugural Experience, located at Hall A entrance of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Pioneer Skies delves into the rich history of aviation, highlighting Charles F. Page, a formerly enslaved man from Pineville who invented an airship and, in 1906, during the Jim Crow era, received a patent for his airship, notably before the Wright Brothers. The exhibit also mentions other pioneering individuals and groundbreaking events that have shaped the skies over Louisiana and beyond. The exhibition features a historical narrative of Page, a scale model of the Page airship, and a timeline celebrating the contributions of diverse Louisianans to the field of aviation.
“Louisiana has a storied aviation history we are proud to showcase. This exhibit not only honors our past but will also inspire future generations to reach for the skies,” said Susan Maclay, Interim Director of the Louisiana State Museum. “Visitors will be captivated by the handcrafted scale model display that brings this chapter of aviation history to life.”
Combining images of a rare photograph and patent documents with a handmade scale model of the Page airship from the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum’s collection, Pioneer Skies highlights the power of curiosity, intellect, and innovation in post-Civil War America and the impact of Jim Crow on the role of aviation in societal progress.
It concludes with a timeline showing Louisiana’s significant contributions, including a 1926 helicopter patent, the origin of Delta Air Lines, Jimmie Wedell and Harry P. Williams’ air-racing feats, Claire Lee Chennault’s famous Flying Tigers, NASA’s history with Michoud Assembly Facility and Lockheed Martin among others.
Pioneer Skies is a collaboration between historians, artists, the New Orleans Aviation Board, and the Friends of the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum, with support from the Friends of the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum, the New Orleans Aviation Board, The Irby Trust, and The Connor Group.
Guest curators are Patrick Burns, Director of Curatorial Services for the Louisiana State Museum, Rodneyna Hart, and Karl Connor, a member of the Louisiana Civil Rights Advisory Board and the Louisiana State Museums Executive Board, and Founder and Managing Member of The Connor Group and Cerveau, A Change Agency.
The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the Irby Trust or the New Orleans Aviation Board.
