Blog

Since the Spring of 2020 women belonging to embroidery groups in South Africa and Chile have been representing how the coronavirus has affected their lives and that of their compatriots.
Read more

MOIFA research associate Dr. Frank J. Korom offers this mahatmya ("panegyric") in memory of Gurupada Chitrakar of Naya, West Bengal, India.
Read more

Guest contributor America Meredith shares a reflection on mask-making by Native artists in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as seen in selected pieces from First American Art Magazine's 2020 virtual exhibition, Masked Heroes: Facial Coverings by Native Artists.
Read more

This Docent's Choice post comes from Diana Mamalaki -- a docent with both MOIFA and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. With her selection of this pillow cover, woven by a young Cretan bride for her trousseau, Diana reflects on the strong women of her own family in the mountain village of Rodakinon, and the appreciation they instilled in her for family, culture, and the arts.​
Read more

Docent Leah Gibbons offers this week's Folk Art Piece of the Week post: a look at the hamsa, a powerful symbol shared for centuries across North African cultures. Leah guides us to the array of hamsas displayed among the amulets, ex-votos, and milagros in the entryway to MOIFA's Multiple Visions exhibit and -- if you look carefully in the exhibit hall -- within and above Alexander Girard's Moroccan scene.
Read more

In this series, MOIFA's docents explore our collections online and select a favorite piece to share with you. This week, Edelma Huntley travels vicariously to the markets of Acatlán de Osorio through the lively market scenes of artist Herón Martinez Mendoza.
Read more

In this series, MOIFA's docents explore our collections online and select a favorite piece to share with you. This week, Ann Murdy presents the "flor immortal" of Delfino and Timoteo López Godínez as found -- to her surprise and delight -- in the Girard Foundation collection at MOIFA.
Read more

Today's "Folk Art Piece of the Week" post arrives from independent scholar Elizabeth Lillehoj, a Professor Emeritus in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at DePaul University, Chicago. With her selection of a 19th century Shinto votive tablet (ema) painted by Kano Asanobu, Dr. Lillehoj turns attention to its mythic subject, Empress Jingū.
Read more

In this series, MOIFA's docents explore our collections online and select a favorite piece to share with you. This week, Carolyn Culhane discusses Japan's Kokeshi tradition of handcrafted wooden dolls, as seen in the Girard Foundation Collection.
Read more

In this series, MOIFA's docents explore our collections online and select a favorite piece to share with you. This week, Lucie Church explores the history and technique of ceinture fléchée as seen in a 19th century Assumption sash.
Read more