By Sara Gilbert ’94, P’26, ’29
On Friday, March 8, the Passport Series visited the St. Louis Art Museum for one of the final days of an exhibit entitled “Aso Oke: Prestige Cloth from Nigeria” to explore the evolution of woven clothing textiles important to Nigerian ceremonies and celebrations early in the last century. This guided tour detailed the common themes, creative methods, and uses of these on-loan fabrics as well as showed how they connect to other items found permanently in our St. Louis Art Museum’s collection.
Beyond this exhibit, our guide was able to share more broadly about how and why many of the museum’s pieces have found their way into our hometown institution along with the background behind museum etiquette practices. After the tour, many participants continued on to visit the wider museum collections and gathered for coffee in the museum cafe for lively conversation and connection. The MICDS Passport Series remains grateful for these types of exhibits provided by the St. Louis Art Museum that help create a backdrop for sharing our own experiences of ceremony and celebrations. Thank you to all who participated in this event!