Wednesday, March 27, 2019
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Lecture by Diana N’Diaye, Cultural Specialist and Curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Rockwell Members: Free, Not-Yet-Members: $10, Students: $5
Advance reservations recommended; space is limited. Click here to register
Lecture Description
Styles created in African American communities inspire fashion and set trends that are embraced by people all over the world. The Will to Adorn project collects and shares autobiographies of African American style exemplars and artisans from cities across the nation, investigating the connections between dress and diverse cultural identities. It is an examination of styles that can be as local as the neighborhood barbershop and as global as the influence of hip-hop. Join Smithsonian Cultural Specialist and Curator, Diana N’Diaye, as she explores everyday dressing as an expression of creativity and heritage.
Exclusive Opportunity for Silver Dollar Society Members
Members of the Silver Dollar Society are invited to join an exclusive dining experience with leaders from the Smithsonian. As part of our Questioning Identity lecture series, a post-lecture dinner with the speaker will be offered in the Museum galleries following the February, March and April lectures.
Space is extremely limited and will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. Register now
*Due to limited space, interested parties are asked to register for only one opportunity. Dinner selections and dietary restrictions will be collected via email closer to the event.
About Diana N’Diaye
Diana N’Diaye is a Cultural Specialist and Curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Diana developed and leads The Will to Adorn: African American Dress and the Aesthetics of Identity, a pan-institutional, multi-sited research project that included a program in the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Her training in anthropology, folklore, and visual studies and her experience as a studio craft artist support over thirty years of fieldwork, exhibitions, programs, and publications focusing on expressive culture in Africa, the Caribbean, and their diasporas in the United States; children’s play and performance; and dress traditions and fashion in Oman, Mali, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Japan. After the Haiti earthquake in 2010, she led the Smithsonian’s support of Haitian traditional artists at the Folklife Festival. She has served on national and international juries, advisory, policy, and funding panels including UNESCO, the NEA, and the American Folklore Society. She is a graduate of the 2010 Smithsonian Leadership Development Program. She holds a PhD in anthropology and visual studies from The Union Institute.
Lecture by Diana N’Diaye, Cultural Specialist and Curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Rockwell Members: Free, Not-Yet-Members: $10, Students: $5
Advance reservations recommended; space is limited. Click here to register
Lecture Description
Styles created in African American communities inspire fashion and set trends that are embraced by people all over the world. The Will to Adorn project collects and shares autobiographies of African American style exemplars and artisans from cities across the nation, investigating the connections between dress and diverse cultural identities. It is an examination of styles that can be as local as the neighborhood barbershop and as global as the influence of hip-hop. Join Smithsonian Cultural Specialist and Curator, Diana N’Diaye, as she explores everyday dressing as an expression of creativity and heritage.
Exclusive Opportunity for Silver Dollar Society Members
Members of the Silver Dollar Society are invited to join an exclusive dining experience with leaders from the Smithsonian. As part of our Questioning Identity lecture series, a post-lecture dinner with the speaker will be offered in the Museum galleries following the February, March and April lectures.
Space is extremely limited and will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. Register now
*Due to limited space, interested parties are asked to register for only one opportunity. Dinner selections and dietary restrictions will be collected via email closer to the event.
About Diana N’Diaye
Diana N’Diaye is a Cultural Specialist and Curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Diana developed and leads The Will to Adorn: African American Dress and the Aesthetics of Identity, a pan-institutional, multi-sited research project that included a program in the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Her training in anthropology, folklore, and visual studies and her experience as a studio craft artist support over thirty years of fieldwork, exhibitions, programs, and publications focusing on expressive culture in Africa, the Caribbean, and their diasporas in the United States; children’s play and performance; and dress traditions and fashion in Oman, Mali, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Japan. After the Haiti earthquake in 2010, she led the Smithsonian’s support of Haitian traditional artists at the Folklife Festival. She has served on national and international juries, advisory, policy, and funding panels including UNESCO, the NEA, and the American Folklore Society. She is a graduate of the 2010 Smithsonian Leadership Development Program. She holds a PhD in anthropology and visual studies from The Union Institute.