A Celebration of Monsters, Superheroes, and Villains in traveling museum exhibitions!
SuperMonster市City! traveling exhibits are derived from co-founder David Barnhill’s private collection of an estimated 200,000 toys, posters, games, books, films, and more. Co-founder Stephen Rueff curates the objects in social and political contexts through reflective and informative texts, artist profiles, and commentary. Barnhill and Rueff bring new insights to America’s iconic mythical figures from America’s Golden Age of toys.
2024 Exhibition Dates:
Spies and Space: Toys of the Cold War Era is an exhibition reflects on how the drama and intrigue of real-world espionage, and the fascination with outer space, seeped into American and Russian popular culture during the Cold War Era. Follow the links below for more info!
Sheboygan County History Musuem
February – April 2024
Dacotah Prairie Musuem
May – September 2024
Castle Museum of Saginaw County Musuem
September 2024 – January 2025
2024 Exhibition Dates:
This exhibition explores how American monsters, superheroes, and villains impacted American culture from the 1960s to the 1990s and became iconic characters reflecting America’s changing values and social tensions. Through this unique display of hundreds of toys, posters, media, and text panels, this exhibition has been enjoyed by thousands of people in cultural institutions across the U.S. Follow the links below for more information!
Science Central
June – September 2024
Sacramento History Museum
September 2024 – January 2025
Recommendation:
The St. Louis Public Library Director of Marketing and Events
Cathy Heimberger wrote the following recommendation.
“As the director of marketing for the St. Louis Public Library I am tasked with bringing exhibits to our Central Library that are unique and have a broad appeal. I met David and Stephen while attending an American Association of Museums conference and I knew immediately that I wanted to work with them and bring this one of a kind experience to St. Louis. They didn’t disappoint.
“Our exhibit consisted of more than 500 items from David’s personal collection and attracted visitors of all ages and backgrounds. The exhibit was a natural fit for the library as monsters and villains have lived on the shelves of public libraries from our earliest days. We saw a spike in our graphic novel checkouts during the four month run of the exhibit. I highly recommend bringing this exhibit to your organization.”
Check out these pictures from the St. Louis Public Library
Exhibited October 2022 – January 2023
Video Testimonials!
Goldstein Museum of Design Director
Lin Nelson-Mayson interview and exhibition images
Historic Duluth Depot Program Director
Briana Johnson interview and exhibition images
Video: Attendees share their thoughts on our exhibitions
Click this LINK for interviews and installation images (if asked, password is SMC)
SuperMonster市City! exhibits strive to be carbon neutral!
As a proud member of TerraPass, we offset 100% of CO2 emissions from shipping and related travel.
We inform host institutions of the amount of CO2 emissions upon request for use in their sustainability reports.
For more on SuperMonster市City!
Contact email: Stephen@SuperMonsterCity.com
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Toy photos above by Steve Zerby
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SuperMonster市City
SuperMonsterCity! celebrates monsters, superheroes and villains in traveling exhibitions and more!
Part three, here is the bottom of the box of cool guys that I found in a tote from my Japan days. It is a mix of cultures, collectibility, and Japanese pop culture guys, all from the early 90s. All from interesting toy stores I discovered in Tokyo. If you have any comments, knowledge or questions feel free. Have fun. Enjoy, collect well. #supermonstercity #toycollecting #japanesetoys #coolguys
Part two of a random chaotic box of guys from my days in Tokyo. Let’s look into a Pandora’s box of memory, mayhem, and nostalgia. Cool guys I kept on my shelves in my little apartment and teaching tools I dragged along with me from America. Please enjoy and comment.#supermonstercity #cooltoys #japanesetoy #toycollector
Welcome to a total box of random mayhem from my days in Tokyo. I had worried that there was a leak in the basement and some of this stuff might be damaged. So let’s look for the very first time at a bunch of cool guys in a chaotic Undisciplined way. Let’s empty the box and look at cool guys. This is part number one. Cheers.#supermonstercity #kaiju #toycollector #cooltoys
Some more fantastic comic book covers that inspired me as a kid. Recently in digging through my closet, I found these treasures. The pictures on the covers were what brought me in to the story please enjoy.#supermonstercity #comicbooks #comiccollector #coolart
Some more incredible comic book covers of the Phantom. I just love these painted covers. They inspired me to no end when I was a small boy. I am still a huge fan of the Ghost Who Walks, the Man Who Cannot Die. #supermonstercity #thephantom #georgewilson #goldkeycomics #LeeFalk #comiccollector
A trip through Barnhill Manor with Elliot as the reporter guide who navigates the dark Crypts of SuperMonsterCity. Elliot volunteered to interview me throughout my house. At this time I was suffering from long Covid and the symptoms were slurred speech and being off-balance all the time. SO PLEASE forgive the fact that I sound like I’m drunk and can barely pronounce the words. We did what had to be done. Please enjoy and there is more coming. Thanks, Elliot.#supermonstercity #toycollector #MonsterKid #spooky
Below are the logos to some of the cultural institutions that have hosted our exhibitions
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