THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.
In connection with the exhibition The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana, opening on April 15, the DMA is offering a weaving workshop with internationally recognized weaver Kwasi Asare. Working with Asare's own special easy-to-use hand looms, workshop attendees will create their own wonderful pieces of honored and venerable kente cloth. To begin the workshop, attendees will go through the exhibition with DMA Senior Curator of the Arts of Africa, the Pacific, and the Americas Roslyn Walker. Then, during the studio portion, with instruction from Asare on the custom 16-inch by 8-inch looms, attendees will create their own weaving to take home. All materials are provided.
About the instructor: Kwasi Asare is one of Africa’s most prominent and accomplished weavers; he is particularly known for kente cloth, the highly prized Ghanaian cloth that has traditionally symbolized royalty, honor, and leadership. Examples of kente cloth will be on view in the DMA's exhibiton The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana. For the United Nations' 50th anniversary in October 1995, Kwasi Asare was commissioned to create a new design of the kente cloth, which he called Adwene Asa, meaning “Consensus has been reached.” The Adwena Asa currently hangs in the United Nations General Assembly, replacing the original kente cloth created by his father, A. E. Asare, over 35 years earlier. As part of his cultural and educational presentations, Asare performs demonstrations on a traditional loom while also offering a hands-on workshop using his own unique small looms, which he created to make kente weaving an accessible experience for everyone. Through his workshops and presentations, Asare is excited to see students develop a stronger mind-body connection by being absorbed in careful, detailed work with their hands. To learn more about him and his work, please visit his website here.
Included in your ticket:
- Admission to The Power of Gold: Asante Royal Regalia from Ghana, regularly a $16 ticket
- Special tour of the exhibition with DMA Senior Curator of the Arts of Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific, Roslyn A. Walker
- Completed weaving to take home
Image: Man’s kente, Ghana, Asante peoples, c. 1900, silk, Dallas Museum of Art, African Collection Fund, 2017.20.1