The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) is proud to announce the arrival of an immersive, new traveling exhibition, Mandela: The Official Exhibition. Opening on March 9, 2024, this interactive experience features previously unseen film, photos, and the display of over 150 historical artifacts and personal effects on loan from the Mandela family, museums, and archives worldwide.

Produced by Round Room Live in partnership with The Royal House of Mandela (RHoM) and RHoM Investments, the exhibition reveals Nelson Mandela’s epic story in a series of seven experiential galleries. It takes visitors on his life journey, from his little-known beginnings in rural Mvezo, Transkei, through decades of turbulent struggle against the apartheid regime, to his eventual vindication and final years as South Africa’s first black president, ‘Father of South Africa’, and a globally loved and respected figure.

Mandela: The Official Exhibition is designed to educate, entertain, and inspire using personal belongings and objects never previously seen outside of South Africa. These items, including the suit worn for the opening of the South African parliament in 1996; a traditional headdress gifted to him by The King of Xhosa people, King Xolilzwe Sigcawu as he awarded Mandela the ancient tribal warrior honor of the Isithwalandwe Sesizwe, for the first time in two centuries; his presidential desk and chair and his much loved iconic beige trench coat, combine with immersive media presentations and scenic re-creations, to enable visitors to actively engage with and experience key moments in Mandela’s life.

Nelson Mandela’s story has been told many times before, not least of all by the man himself in his own words. So, what makes this exhibition different? The exhibition features unique insights from across the spectrum – from close family, friends, and others who admired him from afar. Personal artifacts and other material also reveal the deeper stories behind the headlines and bring us closer to his legacy.

Lawyer. Revolutionary. Political prisoner. World leader. Elder statesman. Symbol of the struggle against oppression. Mandela has been all these things to so many people across the world in the past 50 years and ten years after his passing, he continues to remain a human rights icon and to be seen globally as an advocate for change.

Mandela: The Official Exhibition will be on display at the GRPM from March 9 through May 26, 2024, and is included with general admission to the Museum. Learn more at grpm.org/mandela