Part 1
Which museum did you virtually visit?
I virtually visited The British Museum of Arts and Culture, showcasing African Textiles.
Where is the museum located?
The British Museum is located in London, England.
Why did you choose this museum?
I choose the British Museum because it's an institution dedicated to art and culture. Besides, it has a broad and comprehensive collection of over eight million works collected during the era of the British empire. Also, it documents the story of human culture from its beginning to the present. Thus, the showcasing of African was an interesting choice because it helped me understand the diverse African culture.
What was your favorite exhibit?
My favorite exhibit is the Printed cloth, Kanga (2005), by Long Live, the black woman cooperative in Gezaoule. The cloth has a similar pattern of a lady riding a bike while having some luggage on her back seat. The cloth has inscriptions reading that a woman is a catalyst to development. The cloth was printed for the Kali Mata Ki Jai women. I believe the fabric was to support and empower African women and show their role in society is vital.
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What is one interesting and informative fact about this exhibit?
The most informative fact about the British Museum is that it highlighted that the beliefs, history, fashions, status, and aspiration of the African people are communicated through colors and patterns of textiles and the occasion they are worn ( Social fabric: African textiles today - British Museum - Google arts & culture, n.d.) . For instance, the printed cloth of shweshwe 2008 with the print of Nelson Mandela and indigo in color, is worn by the Sotho people. Shweshwe has a complex history that can be traced back to King Moshoeshoe 1, who resisted the British rule and united the Boers and Zulu to found modern Lesotho.
Besides, East African women wear kanga to demonstrate their stance on global issues, political allegiances, and their alignment on a collective vision for the future. For instance, the Kanga by Kaderdina with inscriptions, ‘I have no secret but I have an answer’ shows a woman political pledge to bring change in society.
Did you enjoy your virtual tour?
Yes, I did.
Part 2
Which museum did you virtually visit?
National Women History Museum (NWHM)
Where is the museum located?
NWHM is located in Alexandria, Virginia.
Why did you choose this museum?
I choose to visit NWHM as it collects and showcase the contribution of women to the USA's social, economic, political, and cultural life in the context of world history.
What was your favorite exhibit?
My favorite exhibits were inventive women and Feminism, the first wave.
What is one interesting and informative fact about this exhibit?
On the Inventive women exhibit, I learnt that during 1800, state laws governed women's property rights. Women could own any property, but they had no legal identities separate from their husbands, meaning women had no legal abilities to control and manage their properties, such as their patent inventions. Therefore, Charlotte Smith has become a consistent voice advocating for working women and promoting women inventors. In 1888 she was rewarded with 500 copies containing a list of women whom patents had been granted. In 1893, Cochrane exhibited her dishwashers in the Columbian exhibition, which won first place in best mechanical construction, durability, and adaptability ( NWHM virtual exhibit: Inventive women, n.d.) . Thus, the Inventive women exhibit is to encourage more women and girls to pursue STEM.
The first wave of Feminism took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The goal of the first wave was to open up opportunities for women with a focus on suffrage ( Feminism: The first wave, n.d.) . The first wave of feminists was interrelated with the French revolution, the Temperance movement, and the Abolitionist Movement. Discussions on voting and women participation in politics led to scrutinizing the differences between men and women as they were viewed then.
Did you enjoy your virtual tour?
Yes, the virtual tour was enlightening.
References
Feminism: The first wave . (n.d.). National Women's History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/exhibits/feminism-first-wave
Halls, J., & Martino, A. (2018). Cloth, copyright, and cultural exchange: Textile designs for export to Africa at the National Archives of the UK. Journal of Design History , 31 (3), 236-254. https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epy007
NWHM virtual exhibit: Inventive women . (n.d.). National Women's History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/exhibits/inventive-women
Social fabric: African textiles today - British Museum - Google arts & culture . (n.d.). Google Arts & Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/social-fabric-african-textiles-today/IQKyNsyPc0L4Iw
