Africa Fashion Opening Weekend
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Date
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Accessible bathroom, All gender bathroom, Assistance animals welcome, Auslan interpreted, Seating available, Wheelchair accessibleCelebrate the opening of Africa Fashion with a free day of art, music, dance and talks for all ages, curated by creative producer Dorcas Maphakela.
Developed by the Victorian and Albert Museum (V&A), London, and presented in Melbourne in partnership with the NGV, Africa Fashion showcases the creativity, ingenuity, and global impact of contemporary African fashions from the mid-twentieth century to the present day, featuring over 200 works spanning fashion, textiles, adornment, photography, music, and film.
The celebrations will begin with a talk by Dr Christine Checinska, Senior Curator of African and Diaspora Textiles and Fashion at the V&A introducing the exhibition, followed by a dynamic program of performances and workshops throughout the afternoon.
Uniting local African voices across music, poetry and dance, join us for an afternoon of vibrant drop-by performances highlighting themes of love, life and politics in Africa, in a rich celebration of African heritage and contemporary creativity.
Participants
Dorcas Maphakela is a multidisciplinary creative combining writing, visual arts and holistic well-being advocacy in her practice. She is a South African-born Mopedi woman who relocated to Australia by choice in 2007 and became a citizen in 2012. She has extensive media and community engagement experience. She is a TV presenter, public speaker and founder of the Antenna Award-winning, OZ AFRICAN TV (OATV); a platform that celebrates African diaspora people in Australia. Dorcas is also the co-founder of Yo CiTY, an African-led platform that champions culturally diverse experiences through art and music and the NGV Africa Fashion Programs Co-Curator.
Dr Christine Checinska is the V&A’s inaugural Senior Curator of African and African Diaspora Fashion and Lead Curator of the Africa Fashion exhibition, July 2022 – April 2023. Prior to joining the V&A, Christine worked as a womenswear designer, academic, artist and curator. Her creative practice and research explore the relationship between fashion, culture and race. Christine’s recent exhibitions include an intervention for Makers Eye: Stories of Craft, July-October 2021, Crafts Council Gallery, and Folded Life February 2021, Johanne Jacobs Museum, Zurich, Switzerland. Her recent publications include ‘Re-Fashioning African Diasporic Masculinities’ in Fashion and Postcolonial Critique, Elke Gaugele and Monica Titton (eds.), 2019. In 2016 she delivered the TedxTalk Disobedient Dress: Fashion as Everyday Activism. In industry for over thirty years, Christine has created womenswear collections for iconic British brands such as Margaret Howell, where she was a Senior Designer, during the late 1990s.
Date
Tickets
Venue
Access
Accessible bathroom, All gender bathroom, Assistance animals welcome, Auslan interpreted, Seating available, Wheelchair accessibleCelebrate the opening of Africa Fashion with a free day of art, music, dance and talks for all ages, curated by creative producer Dorcas Maphakela.
Developed by the Victorian and Albert Museum (V&A), London, and presented in Melbourne in partnership with the NGV, Africa Fashion showcases the creativity, ingenuity, and global impact of contemporary African fashions from the mid-twentieth century to the present day, featuring over 200 works spanning fashion, textiles, adornment, photography, music, and film.
The celebrations will begin with a talk by Dr Christine Checinska, Senior Curator of African and Diaspora Textiles and Fashion at the V&A introducing the exhibition, followed by a dynamic program of performances and workshops throughout the afternoon.
Uniting local African voices across music, poetry and dance, join us for an afternoon of vibrant drop-by performances highlighting themes of love, life and politics in Africa, in a rich celebration of African heritage and contemporary creativity.
Participants
Dorcas Maphakela is a multidisciplinary creative combining writing, visual arts and holistic well-being advocacy in her practice. She is a South African-born Mopedi woman who relocated to Australia by choice in 2007 and became a citizen in 2012. She has extensive media and community engagement experience. She is a TV presenter, public speaker and founder of the Antenna Award-winning, OZ AFRICAN TV (OATV); a platform that celebrates African diaspora people in Australia. Dorcas is also the co-founder of Yo CiTY, an African-led platform that champions culturally diverse experiences through art and music and the NGV Africa Fashion Programs Co-Curator.
Dr Christine Checinska is the V&A’s inaugural Senior Curator of African and African Diaspora Fashion and Lead Curator of the Africa Fashion exhibition, July 2022 – April 2023. Prior to joining the V&A, Christine worked as a womenswear designer, academic, artist and curator. Her creative practice and research explore the relationship between fashion, culture and race. Christine’s recent exhibitions include an intervention for Makers Eye: Stories of Craft, July-October 2021, Crafts Council Gallery, and Folded Life February 2021, Johanne Jacobs Museum, Zurich, Switzerland. Her recent publications include ‘Re-Fashioning African Diasporic Masculinities’ in Fashion and Postcolonial Critique, Elke Gaugele and Monica Titton (eds.), 2019. In 2016 she delivered the TedxTalk Disobedient Dress: Fashion as Everyday Activism. In industry for over thirty years, Christine has created womenswear collections for iconic British brands such as Margaret Howell, where she was a Senior Designer, during the late 1990s.