The Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona opened Armstrong in Ghana on Monday, October 19, a year-long exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the jazz trumpeter's 1956 concert tour to Accra. It is on view at the Louis Armstrong Center, 34-56 107th Street, through September 30, 2027.

Residents of Corona and its neighbors, ZIP codes 11368, 11369 and 11370, get in for $5.

Why Ghana

Armstrong first traveled to what was then the Gold Coast in 1956, months after the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and a year before the country declared independence from Britain as Ghana under Kwame Nkrumah. According to the museum, Ghana was the only African country Armstrong returned to more than once, and a place where he described a strong sense of belonging.

The museum says most books and films about Armstrong have centered on his career at home, and that the exhibition is meant to look at him in a global frame: how he was received abroad, and what it meant for a Black man to represent the United States overseas during the civil rights movement.

What is in the show

The exhibition draws on the museum's Armstrong Archive, about 60,000 pieces including recordings, photographs and documents from his African tours, alongside newly recorded oral histories and commissioned artworks. The artists named on the museum's exhibition page include Chief Adjuah, Latasha Barnes, The Ghana Jazz Collective, Kweku Sumbry, Zohra Opoku and Serge Clottey, with work by earlier figures including John Biggers, Aaron Douglas and Maya Angelou.

Regina Bain, the museum's executive director, is the curator, and Ricky Riccardi, its director of research collections, is on the exhibition team. The museum plans panel talks and workshops with scholars and partners in New York and Ghana, and the exhibition is set to travel to Accra, with the Nubuke Foundation named as a planned host.

The house across the street

Louis and Lucille Armstrong moved into their house on 107th Street in 1943 and lived there for the rest of his life. Guided tours of the house leave from the Center every hour and include the rooms where Armstrong practiced and entertained, with recordings he made at home. A house tour ticket also covers Armstrong in Ghana and the museum's permanent exhibition, Here to Stay.

Hours and tickets

  • Hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. House tours start every hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Sunday through Wednesday.
  • House tour and exhibits: $20 adults; $14 seniors 65 and up, students, military and veterans, and visitors with disabilities. House tours must be booked in advance.
  • Exhibits only: $10 adults; $8 discounted.
  • Corona residents (11368, 11369, 11370): $5 for either ticket, with ID.
  • Children 5 and under: free.

Coming up

On Saturday, November 14, the museum holds a Youth Trumpet Parade from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m., followed by part three of its Hot Five Centennial Celebration from 2:30 to 4 p.m., presented by Ricky Riccardi and Matthew Rivera.

Getting there

The museum is at 34-56 107th Street. Take the 7 train to 103 St-Corona Plaza and walk about ten minutes. Tickets are sold on the museum's website.

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