Opening Program: Art, Honor, And Ridicule: Asafo Flags

6 pm: Lecture with exhibition co–curator Silvia Forni
6–9 pm: Outdoor reception with food, drinks, and music

The Fowler welcomes you to the celebratory opening of Art, Honor, and Ridicule: Fante Asafo Flags from Southern Ghana. Join us to hear from exhibition co-curator Silvia Forni, Shirley and Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler.

Forni will discuss the Fowler’s collection of asafo flags from Ghana—one of the most extensive in the world. Following the lecture, enjoy an evening reception with food, drinks, and music on the Fowler’s terrace.

About the exhibition
Colorful and conceptually layered, asafo flags are insignia for the historical and still thriving military companies of Fante states in southern Ghana. They are created by various workshops active in the region to this day and are paraded by the companies to celebrate their strength and preserve the memory of their role as community defendants. Most works in the exhibition were produced in the 20th century by documented artists, but the tradition dates to at least the 17th century. Accompanied by videos and photographs taken over the past five decades, the flags on view speak to the cultural, political, and social facets of these stunning textiles and their role in contemporary Fante life.

Exhibition opens to the public Sunday, October 23

Credits
Art, Honor, and Ridicule: Fante Asafo Flags from Southern Ghanais co-curated by Silvia Forni, senior curator of global Africa, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, and Erica P. Jones, Fowler curator of African arts, and features flags drawn exclusively from the Fowler collection. This presentation is based on the 2016 ROM exhibition of the same name, which focused on flags from ROM and was curated by Forni and Doran H. Ross, former director of the Fowler Museum. In 2017, a publication produced in cooperation between the two museums was published by ROM.