The 3-day celebration of African Fashion & Culture, was fantastic!
Indeed, many threads were woven, brilliantly and creatively, into a magnificent new cloth this past weekend. What a thrilling and important event it was; how lucky we all are to have experienced it, and how blessed this community is to include the wonderful people we do, who can so lovingly ‘put together such an amazing and beautiful exhibition. We learned, were moved, were dazzled by skill and vision, and were lifted up! Thank you, dear Nancy Mallett and Yosola Sholagbade-Adeoye and your veritable army of helpers. We are all so grateful!
Visit our Facebook and Instagram to see more pictures!
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St. James’ Cathedral presented a three-day multi-faceted exhibit on Africa and the African Diaspora through the lens of fashion.
The program included 20+ expert speakers, storytellers, and musicians, as well as curated exhibits and a Gala Opening Night Fashion Show and Reception, featuring a buffet of West African foods.
Thank you all for coming out and supporting this event on October 27-29, 2023.
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Sunday, Oct 29th 12:30 – Free Music Programme and Exhibits
Friday, Oct 27th & Saturday Oct 28th
Where: St. James Cathedral & Cathedral Centre – 65 Church St. Toronto
When: Friday Oct 27 evening & Saturday Oct 28 All Day (Both days SOLD OUT)
Sunday Oct 29 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm – Exhibits, Music and Dance – Free & Open to the Public
An afternoon of music, dance and curate exhibits in the Cathedral and Cathedral Centre.
Including Juno award winning muscians Donné Roberts and Adam Solomon – Detailed program below
Support this event. Make a donation here.
For the current detailed programme click here
The Evolution of an Event
This initiative was intended as a celebration and indeed it has been that. Our inspiration came from the African Fashion Exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which acknowledged the emergence of African fashion into global prominence.
This new recognition brought us face to face with the profound social and economic transitions taking place on that continent. We wanted to understand these rapid shifts, so we decided to mount an exhibit with the goal of deepening interracial awareness through fashion and fabrics – and the cultural symbolism embedded in them.
Fashion and fabrics may not be seen by many Westerners as levers to lift people out of poverty, but they have been essential to African prosperity for thousands of years. Today, the clothing industry is second only to agriculture in many African economies.
Countless volunteers from across the city gave unstintingly of their time, skills, and materials to make African Fashion happen. If this exhibit communicates even a small part of Africa’s complex story and the role of fashion and textiles in it, our task will be well done.
Nancy Mallett and Yosola Sholagbade-Adeoye, Co-chairs
General Information Contacts:
Nancy Mallett
nancyemallett@gmail.com
416 920 1965
Yosola Sholagbade-Adeoye
yosiegal@hotmail.com
Media use images: (to download right click or tap on the image and “save as…”)
African fashion exhibit (social media)
African fashion exhibit banner
African fashion exhibit banner (click for tickets)
Eventbrite tickets here
