The custom of wearing homecoming mums (short for chrysanthemum) was born in the 1920s alongside the dawn of football programs at universities across the country. They began as simple and perfunctory chrysanthemum corsages that boys gave to their dates before the big football game. Only in Texas did the practice catch fire at the high school level and evolve into today’s elaborate, super-sized silk versions of their predecessors. Just like the mums themselves ,the cultural, social, and economic impact of this Texas high school homecoming tradition is enormous. The real plot twist is that women—not students—across the Lone Star State are the real drivers of this multi-million-dollar industry.

Nearly all of the content found in the MUMENTOUS Traveling Exhibit is based on the non-fiction book by Amy J. Schultz, also entitled MUMENTOUS(Atmosphere Press, 2023).Additional photographs are shared in partnership with the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Special Collections .The photographs in the book were originally exhibitedin2019at the Arlington Museum of Art in Arlington, TX during Amy’s tenure as the AMA’s inaugural Artist-in-Residence.

Come and see how the Doss Center puts it's own spin on the exhibit with high school memorabilia from around the area. I promise that you are going to love it.