Adinkrahene: Honoring Women's Leadership and Greatness Through Fiber and Textiles

Event Type

Presentation

Location

EHFA 136

Start Date

5-3-2020 1:45 PM

End Date

5-3-2020 3:15 PM

Description

Lovell's "Warrior Women of the African Diaspora" series, honors and commemorates women of African descent who have fought for the empowerment of African descendants. At the Kokrobitey Institute, she created a warrior shirt for the first living woman in her series, Ghanaian-American Peggielene Bartels; King Peggy. Bartels is the third female king in Ghana. A king's enstoolment occurs over many days and the ceremonies required King Peggy to wear a great variety of cloths for different events. Ghana, as well as much of the continent, has a rich textile history and tradition. These textiles are embedded with cultural meaning through pattern, color, and proverbial motifs. The increase of foreign imports, second-hand clothing, and cheap Chinese wax print knockoffs have greatly undercut regionally printed fabrics, destroying the local print industry. Therefore, Lovell decided to make King Peggy's war shirt a celebration and commemoration of her and of traditional Ghanaian textiles. Lovell conducted historical, geographical, and textile research which was combined with local materials and making processes to create a war shirt reflecting Ghanaian textile traditions and celebrate a woman chosen by the ancestors to be a king.

Comments

Theme: Gender/Agency/Land; Moderator: Shari Orisich, Coastal Carolina University

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Mar 5th, 1:45 PM Mar 5th, 3:15 PM

Adinkrahene: Honoring Women's Leadership and Greatness Through Fiber and Textiles

EHFA 136

Lovell's "Warrior Women of the African Diaspora" series, honors and commemorates women of African descent who have fought for the empowerment of African descendants. At the Kokrobitey Institute, she created a warrior shirt for the first living woman in her series, Ghanaian-American Peggielene Bartels; King Peggy. Bartels is the third female king in Ghana. A king's enstoolment occurs over many days and the ceremonies required King Peggy to wear a great variety of cloths for different events. Ghana, as well as much of the continent, has a rich textile history and tradition. These textiles are embedded with cultural meaning through pattern, color, and proverbial motifs. The increase of foreign imports, second-hand clothing, and cheap Chinese wax print knockoffs have greatly undercut regionally printed fabrics, destroying the local print industry. Therefore, Lovell decided to make King Peggy's war shirt a celebration and commemoration of her and of traditional Ghanaian textiles. Lovell conducted historical, geographical, and textile research which was combined with local materials and making processes to create a war shirt reflecting Ghanaian textile traditions and celebrate a woman chosen by the ancestors to be a king.