Making a Mark: Hannibal’s Creatives Faye Dant

She is a fifth-generation Missourian born and raised in Hannibal, MO, and a child of the ’60s. She participated in her first protest as a 12-year-old and continues to remain engaged to this day. She takes great pride in her humble beginnings as a Douglasville kid (Hannibal’s oldest all-Black community founded by newly emancipated slaves) and in her Master’s Degree in Planning from the University of Michigan.

Driven by the pursuit of inclusion, Ms. Dant founded Northeast Missouri’s only Black history museum and the country’s only museum to pay tribute to Daniel Quarles, aka Jim, of Mark Twain’s literary fame – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. She often incorporates images of Hannibal residents in her art pieces to overcome the sense of local invisibility.

She began by adding Black images to Birthday cards and holiday gift-giving for her family more than 50 years ago. Her first locally displayed piece was shown at the Mark Twain Museum. Contributors were asked to submit decorated masks for Samuel Clemens’ 180th birthday. She created an image of Huckleberry’s very black friend, Jim; it stuck out like a sore thumb in that sea of white faces, white hair, and white mustaches. Of course, it didn’t win any prizes, but she was pretty proud of it.

She is now a juried artist who has sold and exhibited her work throughout the tri-state area.