Exhibition Public Programming

Power Dressing: Men's Fashion and Prestige in Africa
through February 18, 2007

Opened Sunday, December 17, 2006 1-4 p.m.
Organized by the Newark Museum», Newark, New Jersey and traveling
to Santa Fe, the only venue west of the Mississippi, Power Dressing
brings together over forty outstanding examples of male attire
from the throughout the continent and spanning a period from the
19th century to the present-day. The geographic and chronological
range of the works in the exhibition and the tremendous variation in their style, form, material, and technique demonstrate the ongoing cultural and artistic significance of
men's dress in Africa. Presented together, they reveal how a man's clothing can define,
sustain, or reinforce ideas about
power and status in Africa.
Photograph Left: Oba Ademuwagun
Adesida II, the Deji of Akure, on throne in courtyard of Akure palace, Nigeria. Yoruba peoples,Nigeria. Photograph by Eliot Elisofon, 1959. Image no. EEPA 2071Eliot Elisofon, Photographic archives,
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Opening events:
1 p.m. Lecture with Dr. Christa Clarke, exhibition curator
2-4 p.m. Reception with Live Music by Akeem Ayanniyi and Agalu» »
refreshments by the Women's Board of the Museum of New Mexico.



Hands-on for All Ages!
Thursday December 21, 2006
1- 4 p.m.
Use beads to make African
inspired gifts highlighted in the Variations and
Power Dressing exhibitions.
1:30 -3:30 p.m.
Enjoy Kwanzaa related stories with Ramona King,
all ages and skill levels welcome.
By museum admission, no registration or materials fee required!
Photograph, left detail,Ceremonial gown, 1992,Cameroon; Bafut.

Adinkra Banner Printing Workshop
Sunday January 14, 2007
1-4 p.m.
Adinkra Banner Printing honoring the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King
and other African American civil rights leaders. Adinkra stamps are
designs cut into calabashes (gourds) which are used to print patterns
onto fabric. Adinkra means good-bye or farewell and Adinkra cloth
is used for funerary occasions. Make your own Adinkra designs
and/or use Adinkra stamps from Ghana to create banners
commemorating Martin Luther King and other African American
Civil Rights leaders. Bring your banners to the gathering at
the Roundhouse to celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday
on Monday, January 15th. By museum admission,
New Mexico Residents with I.D. Free on Sundays,
youth 16 and under and foundation members always free!»

Men's Power Dressing
Saturday February 3, 2007
1:30 p.m. Lecture
African Fashion:
Design, Tradition & Global Trends
by Victoria Rovine, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Art History &
African Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville.
3:00 p.m. African Men's Fashion Show & Sale.
By museum admission, youth 16 & under
and foundation members always free!»
NAACP»members admitted Free!
More African Textiles & Fashion»

Photograph, right Ceremonial ensemble, late 20th century,Grassfields region, Cameroon. Cotton, leather, porcupine quill.


African Drum and Dance
Sunday February 4 2007
1:30 - 4 p.m. Drum performance and
dance workshop with Akeem Ayanniyi
and Agalu». All ages & skill levels
welcome, no advance registration
required. By museum admission,
New Mexico residents with I.D.
Free on Sundays, youth 16 and
under and foundation members» always free

Young Adults & Power Dressing
Friday February 16, 2007
7 - 10 p.m. Teen and young Adult program featuring local
bands and local fashions, presented in conjunction
with Warehouse 21 » Free!

All Programs by Museum admission: Adult single museum visit $6.
for New Mexico residents, $8 for nonresidents; or a 4-day pass for
five museums (Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of
Indian Arts & Culture, & Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts
on Museum Hill »and Palace of the Governor's and
Museum of Fine Arts, downtown) for $18.
New Mexico resident senior (60+) with I.D. Free on Wednesdays,
all NM residents with I.D. FREE on Sundays!
Youth 16 and under and foundation members always free!»

Power Dressing: Men's Fashion and Prestige in Africa was
organized by the Newark Museum. The exhibition received funding
from the Coby Foundation, Ltd, the Prudential Foundation,
the LINKS of Essex County and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

Local sponsors include the International Folk Art Foundation,
The Cotsen Family Foundation and the Museum of New Mexico Foundation.