African Textile Celebrates President Barack Obama
Erie, PA, February 07, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The Erie Art Museum’s exhibit, Kanga & Kitenge: Cloth and Culture in East Africa, just received a new acquisition. Fresh from the textile factories in Tanzania, is a cloth commemorating President Barack Obama. It is on view through April 5, 2009 in the Museum’s Main Gallery, 411 State Street.
The limited edition kanga, sporting a bold pattern, Swahili inscription and image of President Obama is also available for purchase in the Museum’s gift shop for $25.
“I personally, find it interesting that the kanga is so African. It shows the entire continent of Africa, not just Kenya where President Obama’s father was born. It really captures the excitement that all Africans are feeling,” said Erie Art Museum Director of Education Kelly Armor. “It says in Swahili: Congratulations. Love and peace. God has granted us a great favor – which is such an African sentiment. My friends in Tanzania and Kenya say these are very hot items.”
According to Armor, the textile underscores the relevance of the Museum’s exhibit and daily African life. “These cloths are really an important part of East African culture . . . and this is a piece of history that thousands of Africans are now wearing with pride all over East Africa and beyond.”
About the Exhibition
This exhibition focuses on two main forms of wrap garments, kanga and kitenge, both sporting bold patterns and colors and in the case of kanga—an inscription in Swahili. The garments boast a variety of patterns ranging from post-modern abstractions to traditional paisleys, as well as subjects as diverse as political and religious figures to animals, plumbing, modes of transportation and western style of clothing. The Swahili inscription on the Kanga textiles includes, proverbs, aphorisms, taunts and blessings.
The kanga and kitenge textiles reflect the history of the Swahili trading empire and its relationship with West Africa, India, Arabia, Europe and the Americas, and its role in slavery and its abolition. Both of these wrap garments are typically worn wherever Swahili is spoken, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Mozambique, the Congo and beyond. Although kanga are ubiquitous in East Africa, they have significant cultural status and are a part of every rite of passage and gift giving occasion in East African life.
The Erie Art Museum has acquired the largest museum collection of these textiles in the world. Research by Museum staff into their production and use has been supported by grants from The Coby Foundation and the U.S. State Department. The community exhibition has been sponsored by Gannon University.
About the Erie Art Museum
The Erie Art Museum anchors downtown Erie’s cultural and economic revitalization, occupying a group of restored mid-19th century commercial buildings, including an outstanding 1839 Greek Revival Bank. It maintains an ambitious program of 15 to 18 changing exhibitions annually, embracing a wide range of subjects, both historical and contemporary and including folk art, contemporary craft, multi-disciplinary installations, community-based work, as well at traditional media.
The Erie Art Museum also holds a collection of over 6,000 objects, which includes significant works in American ceramics, Tibetan painting, Indian bronzes, contemporary baskets, and a variety of other categories.
The Museum offers a wide range of education programs and artists’ services including interdisciplinary and interactive school tours and a wide variety of classes for the community. Performing arts are showcased in the 24-year-old Contemporary Music Series, which represents national and international performers of serious music with an emphasis on composer/performers, and a popular annual two-day Blues & Jazz festival.
The Erie Art Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free for members, free on Wednesdays, $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and students and $2 for children under 12.
For additional information on the Erie Art Museum, visit online at http://www.erieartmuseum.org/ or call (814) 459-5477.
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The limited edition kanga, sporting a bold pattern, Swahili inscription and image of President Obama is also available for purchase in the Museum’s gift shop for $25.
“I personally, find it interesting that the kanga is so African. It shows the entire continent of Africa, not just Kenya where President Obama’s father was born. It really captures the excitement that all Africans are feeling,” said Erie Art Museum Director of Education Kelly Armor. “It says in Swahili: Congratulations. Love and peace. God has granted us a great favor – which is such an African sentiment. My friends in Tanzania and Kenya say these are very hot items.”
According to Armor, the textile underscores the relevance of the Museum’s exhibit and daily African life. “These cloths are really an important part of East African culture . . . and this is a piece of history that thousands of Africans are now wearing with pride all over East Africa and beyond.”
About the Exhibition
This exhibition focuses on two main forms of wrap garments, kanga and kitenge, both sporting bold patterns and colors and in the case of kanga—an inscription in Swahili. The garments boast a variety of patterns ranging from post-modern abstractions to traditional paisleys, as well as subjects as diverse as political and religious figures to animals, plumbing, modes of transportation and western style of clothing. The Swahili inscription on the Kanga textiles includes, proverbs, aphorisms, taunts and blessings.
The kanga and kitenge textiles reflect the history of the Swahili trading empire and its relationship with West Africa, India, Arabia, Europe and the Americas, and its role in slavery and its abolition. Both of these wrap garments are typically worn wherever Swahili is spoken, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Mozambique, the Congo and beyond. Although kanga are ubiquitous in East Africa, they have significant cultural status and are a part of every rite of passage and gift giving occasion in East African life.
The Erie Art Museum has acquired the largest museum collection of these textiles in the world. Research by Museum staff into their production and use has been supported by grants from The Coby Foundation and the U.S. State Department. The community exhibition has been sponsored by Gannon University.
About the Erie Art Museum
The Erie Art Museum anchors downtown Erie’s cultural and economic revitalization, occupying a group of restored mid-19th century commercial buildings, including an outstanding 1839 Greek Revival Bank. It maintains an ambitious program of 15 to 18 changing exhibitions annually, embracing a wide range of subjects, both historical and contemporary and including folk art, contemporary craft, multi-disciplinary installations, community-based work, as well at traditional media.
The Erie Art Museum also holds a collection of over 6,000 objects, which includes significant works in American ceramics, Tibetan painting, Indian bronzes, contemporary baskets, and a variety of other categories.
The Museum offers a wide range of education programs and artists’ services including interdisciplinary and interactive school tours and a wide variety of classes for the community. Performing arts are showcased in the 24-year-old Contemporary Music Series, which represents national and international performers of serious music with an emphasis on composer/performers, and a popular annual two-day Blues & Jazz festival.
The Erie Art Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free for members, free on Wednesdays, $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and students and $2 for children under 12.
For additional information on the Erie Art Museum, visit online at http://www.erieartmuseum.org/ or call (814) 459-5477.
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Contact
Tammy Roche
814-459-5477
erieartmuseum.org
814-459-5477
erieartmuseum.org
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