Join the Key West Art & Historical Society for the latest program in their Distinguished Speaker Series. Dr. Russell Fielding, Coastal Carolina University, will explore the history of breadfruit, a tropical fruit tree with a rich and complex global legacy, both dark and heroic. The starchy fruit it produces in abundance has fueled two global migrations: one of bold and daring exploration, the other of cruel forced displacement.

Today, breadfruit holds new promise as a climate-resilient crop and sustainable food source, simultaneously offering potential solutions for food security and novel culinary opportunities. Despite horticultural challenges and lingering cultural stigmas, its future looks bright. Key West, long the breadfruit capital of the continental United States, now finds itself at the forefront of a quiet breadfruit revolution as rising global temperatures make this ancient tree newly relevant in a warming world.

Russell Fielding is a Florida native and an environmental geographer whose research focuses on sustainable food systems in the coastal and island settings of our changing world. Registration and a $13 admission fee are required.

This event celebrates the opening of “FOOD: Celebrating Conch Cuisine,” a new exhibition organized by the Key West Art & Historical Society that immerses visitors in the rich culinary heritage of the Florida Keys. The exhibit will be on display from February 27, 2026, to January 3, 2027, and is free with museum admission.

“FOOD: Celebrating Conch Cuisine” is one of seven exhibitions statewide that explore the people, lands and histories that come together to tell the stories of Florida’s shared food experience. Sponsored by Florida Humanities with funding from the Jacarlene Foundation, this interactive exhibition is presented by the Key West Art & Historical Society in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program.