africa interweave textile diaporas

Celebrates an exhibition at the University of Florida’s Harn Museum of Art that features contemporary and traditional African textiles. Catalogs more than fifty objects, including five newly commissioned works. The commissions, many arranged by students conducting fieldwork in countries across the continent, include an embroidered woman’s cotton robe with traditional embroidery patterns in silk from Mali, a kente cloth commemorating a visit to Ghana by Bill Clinton in 2009, and an Ebonko masquerade ensemble from Nigeria. Contributors offer essays on such topics as the trade routes for indigo, kente and other African-print commemorative cloth, chieftaincy dress and masquerades, Asafo flags, the emergence of the East African kanga, and much more. They provide an introduction to both the diversity of local production and aesthetics, as well as the global influence on regional ideas, materials, and techniques. --From publisher description Celebrates an exhibition at the University of Florida's Harn Museum of Art that features contemporary and traditional African textiles. Catalogs more than fifty objects, including five newly commissioned works. The commissions, many arranged by students conducting fieldwork in countries across the continent, include an embroidered woman's cotton robe with traditional embroidery patterns in silk from Mali, a kente cloth commemorating a visit to Ghana by Bill Clinton in 2009, and an Ebonko masquerade ensemble from Nigeria. Contributors offer essays on such topics as the trade routes for indigo, kente and other African-print commemorative cloth, chieftaincy dress and masquerades, Asafo flags, the emergence of the East African kanga, and much more. They provide an introduction to both the diversity of local production and aesthetics, as well as the global influence on regional ideas, materials, and techniques. --From publisher description