A Landmark Exhibition Celebrating The Global Influence Of Modern And Contemporary African Fashions Is Being Presented By The Brooklyn Museum Under The Title Africa Fashion.
The show, making its North American debut in Brooklyn, will include more than 180 works from the museum’s African art collection, including apparel and jewelry, music, film, visual arts and photography.
June 23 – October 22, 2023
African Fashion is North America’s largest ever exposition on the topic, celebrating the extraordinary originality, ingenuity, and global impact of African clothing from its earliest days to the present day. Through the work of prominent designers and artists of the mid-20th century, this exhibition explores how fashion played an important role in Africa’s cultural renaissance, along with the visual arts and music, and how those elements are relevant today. is focused on what laid the foundation for the fashion revolution. century to the present.
The show is run by the V&A and adapted for the Brooklyn Museum by Ernestine White Mifetu, Curator of African Art at the Sills Foundation, and Anissa Malboacin, Graduate Center for Bard/Brooklyn Museum Postdoctoral Fellow of African Art.
African art, photography, art from the Islamic world, contemporary art, Egyptian, classical, and ancient Near Eastern art are some of the museum’s collections included in the Brooklyn exhibition.
Brooklyn is the ideal setting to explore the diversity and depth of the continent’s different histories and cultures.
It is home to one of the country’s most vibrant African diaspora groups.
“Fashion is a wonderful multifaceted creative statement. This is captured by African fashion in a surprisingly vivid and intertwined way.” The emphasis is on physical identity and material culture.
The exhibition’s immersive exhibits are organized thematically, including apparel, textiles, photography, writing, sketches, music, film, and catwalk footage. More than 40 of his designers and artisans from his 20 African countries will participate, many of whose work will be exhibited for the first time in the country. The exhibition showcases garments created by the mid-20th century designer and current generation African fashion works created by his designers, collectives and photographers.
African fashion began in the post-independence era from the 1950s to the 1990s. During this time, the continent underwent major changes politically, socially and culturally. Pan-Africanism flourished, fostering a shared sense of identity centered around fashion and creative expression. The Cultural Renaissance section uses ephemeral things like protest signs, old magazine covers, and famous album covers to illustrate this period of tremendous change.
Visitors can visit Fabric Politics and Poetics to learn about how indigenous fabric making and wearing evolved into a calculated political act.
Wax prints, memorial fabrics, àdr, kente fabrics and bglanfini are displayed among the textiles in the museum’s collection of African art.
The Vanguard section features widely recognized first generation African designers.
The works of Kofi Anser (Ghana), Naima Benis (Morocco), Shayde Thomas Farm (Nigeria), Chris Saydou (Mali), Alfadi (Niger) from the mid to late 20th century will be exhibited for the first time in Japan. Combined with a vibrant display of fashion photography.
The images in “Catching Change” cover the years leading up to independence and show the emergence of activism and African-American pride. As photography became more widely available, the number of photographs taken in homes and studios increased.
Its expansion is exemplified by studio portraits created by Malian artists Seydou Kheta and Malik Sidibé, as well as fashion photographs, family photographs and other works from the museum’s collection by James Varner (Ghana). increase.
Users are encouraged to interact directly with the content by posting personal and family photos that reflect pre-independence African fashion. The diaspora community becomes an important element of the presentation thanks to these self-forming contributions.
Through samples of haute couture, ready-to-wear, accessories and creative projects, the Cutting Edge section highlights a new generation of fashion designers and creatives.
Based on concepts such as ‘Afrotopia’, ‘Artisanal’, ‘Co-creation’, ‘Provocative’, ‘Minimalist’ and ‘Mixologist’, this area showcases designs by dozens of current artists and collectives. and their groundbreaking collections are reminiscent of their time. A rich and concrete cultural history. For example, his Alchemy collection by South African designer Thebe Magugu and stylist and healer Noentla Khumalo focuses on African spirituality and ancestral connections. Nigerian designer Adebayo Oke-Lawal and his label Orange Culture challenge conventional notions of masculinity by incorporating “feminine” textiles and shades into menswear.
A self-portrait by costume designer, stylist and photographer Gould Ahmed (Djibouti) continues the debate. Ahmed’s artistic expression also challenges traditional cultural gender conventions, particularly the underrepresentation of non-binary black Muslims.
Lafalaise Dion (Côte d’Ivoire) explores the cowry shell’s history as a symbol of wealth, success and fertility, and its contemporary use in jewelry.
Created exclusively for African fashion by Moroccan designer Maison ARTC, the artwork A Conversation between Cultures features the hand of Fatima (Hamsa), a symbol of good luck.
Through the Photographer’s Vision highlights how contemporary photography and film can support creative communities, provide a platform for unrepresented artists, and explore new African identities. I’m here. Contemporary photographers such as Stephen Tayo (Nigeria), Sarah Waiswa (Uganda) and Victoire Douniama are part of the collection of South African photographer Zanele Muholi and his Omar Victor Diop (Republic of the Congo).
Global Africa is the climax of the exhibition. This section sheds light on the global importance of African innovation by examining how the Internet age has fueled the growth of the African fashion sector and influence.
Exhibition catalog
A specific exhibition catalog produced by V&A Publishing is available in conjunction with the exhibition. Omoyemi Akerele, Amine Bendriouich, Gus Casely-Hayford, Sunny Dolat, Bonnie Greer, Monica L. Miller, Elisabeth Murray, Njoki Ngumi, Hadeel Osman, Roslyn A.
Walker contributed to the catalog, which was edited by Kristin Ciesinska. Anne Pasternak, Shelby White, and Director Leon Levy, Brooklyn Museum, have written a new foreword.
Expo store
Africa Fashion will use its collaboration with ALRA, a premium lifestyle concept store in Lagos, to create a special exhibition shop experience, thanks to the efforts of Brooklyn Museum of Art resident entrepreneur Rachel Shechtman. Founded in 2015 by Reni Folawiyo and created by architect Sir David Adjaye, ALRA combines fashion, design, food and culture.
Founded in 2015 by Reni Folawiyo and created by architect Sir David Adjaye, ALRA combines fashion, design, food and culture.
Folawiyo has chosen to design an African fashion exhibition shop for ALRA’s first overseas expansion.
Special products, including products by designers featured in African fashion, and trunk presentations and programs will alternate during the exhibition to enhance the shopping experience.
In addition to spotlighting African brands and designers, the Brooklyn Museum Store will sell Brooklyn products including children’s toys, homewares, jewelry and books.
Ticketing details
On April 18, 2023, timed tickets for African fashion will be released. From 11 April 2023 onwards, museum members can reserve free tickets.
Visit www.brooklynmuseum.org/join or email membership@brooklynmuseum.org to join.
Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults are $20 Wednesday through Friday. $13 for seniors, $13 for students, $13 for visitors with disabilities, and $8 for children.
Saturday and Sunday $25 for adults, $17 for seniors, $17 for students, $17 for visitors with disabilities, and $10 for children.
Exhibition credit
Sills Foundation Curator of African Art Ernestine White-Mifetu and Anissa Malvoisin, Bard Graduate Center/Brooklyn Museum of African Art Postdoctoral Fellow, Katherine Footer, Curatorial Director and Senior Curator of Decorative Arts, Matthew Yokowski, Senior Fashion and material culture curator, and is responsible for curating the presentation of African fashion at the Brooklyn Museum.
Developed by V&A and travels the world
Chief Sponsor: Bank of America.
Substantial support from AL-RA.
Content courtesy of city life organization & NFH
