(Cathedral logo?)

African Fashion: Many Threads – One Cloth

A multifaceted exhibit on Africa through the lens of couture 

Think of a continent at the centre of the world. The cradle of the human race – a land impossibly rich in natural resources, the site of ancient cultures, storied trade routes, stunning landscapes, and incomparable wildlife. 

That continent is Africa – the second-largest land mass on the planet.

This vast territorial expanse is home to 54 countries and many diverse peoples speaking some 2000 languages – from Arabic on the northern coast to the Niger-Congo and Bantu tongues of the Subsaharan region, and the Malagasy of the east-coast island of Madagascar. 

Blessed with a young population, Africa is undergoing transformative development across many social and economic spheres. One of these is the evolution of a world-class fashion and textile industry, whose presence is increasingly felt on the global stage. Like Africa itself, its fabrics and couture are vibrant, bold, and fascinating.

The Cathedral Church of St. James welcomes you to a celebration of Africa’s traditional and contemporary fashion in African Fashion: Many Threads – One Cloth. Using design and couture as a point of entry, this exhibit will take a  look at the continental mosaic through the lens of its vibrant textile industry and uniquely African couture. It will explore the impact of its distinctive fashion  on the fabric of its domestic economy and on the international fashion stage, where they are now players  on the runways of Paris, Milan, and New York.

The exhibit will also weave in many other aspects of African life: cuisine, music, dance, story-telling, and artefacts. In addition to a live fashion show featuring African textiles and couture, there will be a series of expert lectures.These will outline Africa’s ethnic and linguistic diversity, changing demographics and rapidly transforming societies, as well as current economic/ecological challenges. It even features a special poem composed by African-Canadian poet laureate George Elliott Clarke.

This exhibit is the latest in the cathedral’s proud tradition of mounting major exhibits of interest to people of diverse ethnicities and faiths under the curatorship of Nancy Mallett. These have ranged from the history of the Christmas crèche and the history of the military chaplaincy to the Protestant Reformation, Truth and Reconciliation, and the great influenza pandemic of 1918. 

This year, African Fashion began as the brainchild of African-Canadian parishioners, who were inspired by a similar exhibit at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in England. Under the aegis of Nancy and her co-chair, Nigerian-born Yosola Sholagbade-Adeoye,  it became a 10-month collaboration of many – of both African and non-African descent. 

It is a labour of love engaging countless parish volunteers, fashion experts and fashion students, artists, and musicians, as well as specialists in African culture, economics, literature, and languages. It has been supported by many generous sponsors as well. St. James is grateful to all who participated.

And we thank you for joining us in our salute to this phenomenal continent as all eyes turn to Africa.

The Very Rev’d Peter Wall
Interim dean and priest-in-charge
The Cathedral Church of St. James

Message from outside dignitary?

Short chairs’ message???
 
OR

Evolution of an Exhibit
This initiative was intended to be a celebration, and indeed it has been that, with many people gladly contributing, many ideas shared, and many friends made. 
Our inspiration came from the African Fashion Exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which highlighted the recent emergence of African fashion into global prominence. 

This new recognition was indeed cause for celebration among Africans, but also for non-Africans since it brought us face to face with the profound social and economic  transitions taking place on that continent.

We wanted to understand that transition and the people behind it. We often hear complaints that if only we had a better understanding of African culture and its diaspora, interracial relations would improve. Picking up on this concern, we decided to mount an exhibit with the goal of deepening awareness at its heart.  

The common human interest in clothing and fashion became the starting point for highlighting the history and diverse cultures of this vast continent. We reached out across the cathedral’s congregation, the surrounding community, and the entire city to find the many people needed to mount this exhibit. And since such an initiative would cost money, we knew that only if we all collaborated as volunteers, would it it be possible. 

And that is what happened. Every person on the committees, every presenter, story teller, fashion designer, model, musician, and poet, as well as everyone doing background research, recruiting presenters, or helping to set up the exhibit, has unstintingly volunteered their time and skills.   
While the initial focus was to centre on the present through contemporary African fashion, the parameters soon widened and deepened to include symbolism and identity behind clothing  Embedded in African garments are patterns and meanings. 

These elements can express identities and beliefs and acknowledge our connection to the natural world, and scholars are beginning to unravel the meaning of symbols passed from generation to generation in African textiles. It is thought, for example, that the popular West African kente pattern of hand-woven silk and cotton strips was inspired centuries ago by a spider’s web. 

Few Canadians have likely thought of the potential role of textile symbols in eliminating mistrust and animosity between cultures. Nor have they seen fashion as a means of lifting people out of poverty. In Africa, however, fashions and fabrics have long been essential to the economy as textiles were traded – even used as currency – across the continent and abroad for thousands of years.  Today, the clothing industry places second only to agriculture in the economies of many African countries.

If this exhibit can communicate even a small part of Africa’s  fascinating and complex story and the part played in it by fashion and textiles, we will consider the task we set ourselves well done.
Nancy Mallett, Yosola Sholagbade-Adeoye
Exhibit co-chairs

PROGRAM

Friday. October 27

❂ 6:00 pm. Light refreshments and steel drum performance by Daryl Williams and members of the Pan Fantasy Steel Orchestra

❂ 6:30 pm. Welcoming remarks from Dean Peter Wall

❂ 6:40. Wairimu Nduati: “Identity and Legitimacy of Fashion in Contemporary Africa”

❂ 7:00 pm. Caron Phinney: “Expressing cultural Identity Through the Creative Process of Design”

❂ 7:30 pm. African fashion show

❂ 7:50 pm. Sarah Hood: Closing commentary and remarks

❂ 8:00 pm. Supper and socialization 
                    
View exhibits on display and hear tales of Africa by story-tellers; try the steel drums; sample finger foods from across Africa; mingle with the models and with fashion and design students and discuss  their work. Yosola Sholagbade-Adeoye will demonstrate the tying of traditional African headpieces, which attendees can take away as keepsakes .

❂ 9:45. Doors close

Saturday, October 28

❂  8:45 am. Coffee served

 ❂  9:15 am. Welcome 

❂  9:20 am.  Egyptian quartet Let’s Sing performs in Arabic accompanied on traditional instruments. Magref Zareef, leader, singer, and lute and oud player; Sally Ismail, singer and percussionist; Mahal Shaker, guitar player; Ibrahim Khalid  tabla player

❂  9:40 am. Introductions to speakers (David Grant??)

❂  9:45 am. Dr. Sarah Fee: “Africa and the History of Global Textile networks: Highlights from the Royal Ontario Museum’s Fabric Collection”

❂ 10:10 am. Dr. Fatima Hamlaoui: “The Diversity and Development of Africa’s  2000 Languages”

❂ 10.35 am. Dunstan and Anthony Morgan. “From Slavery in Jamaica to Freedom in Sierra Leone and Canada: A Family History”

❂  11:00 am. Break and exhibits

❂   11:10 am. Kobena Aquaa-Harrison performs on ancient instruments from Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria

❂   11:30 am. Panel discussion with speakers, led by David Grant

❂   12:00 pm. Informal finger food lunch

Speak with the musicians, admire their instruments, listen to story-tellers, and view exhibits.

❂ 1:45 pm. Ghanaian percussionist Saikou Saho performs on the drums to open the afternoon session

❂ 2:00 pm. Story-telling by Dr. Rita Cox

❂ 2:20 pm. Overview of post-independence power struggles, with remarks by Ugandan refugee Johnny Collins Musinga an informal discussion

❂ 2:35 pm.  Tejal Dodhia: “Why An Eco-Friendly Manufacturing Industry Is Crucial  to Africa’s Future” 

❂  3:00 pm. Kesha Christie: Story-telling

❂  3:15 pm. Break

❂  3:25 pm. Jayshree Khimasia: “How the Fashion  Industry Is Addressing Environmental Concerns in Africa”

❂ 3:50 pm.  Dr. George Elliott Clarke, poet laureate recites a new poem especially composed for the exhibit
	
❂  4:05 pm. Final speaker TBA. “Africa’s Growing Importance in the Global  Economy “

Sunday October 29

❂ 12:30 - 3:30 pm.  Coffee is served in the aisles of the cathedral with free access to exhibits on display in the cathedral and Snell Hall.

An afternoon of African music features steel music, drum dancers from Ghana, a band from Sierra Leone, an Egyptian quartet, and a steel pan band.

PRESENTERS

Yosola Sholagbade-Adeoye. Co-chair of the African Fashion exhibit,Yosola is a longstanding member of the Cathedral’s congregation. Originally from Nigeria, Yosola will be running the Friday workshop on tying African head pieces. Demonstrations will be done directly on participants’ heads and the head ties can be taken home as keepsakes.

Susan ida Boucaud. Located in Toronto, Susan can be heard telling stories at Toronto’s 1001 Friday Nights of Storytelling. She has told in person and online at various events and continues to co-produce storytelling events. Her Voice Returns at https://www.facebook.com/HerVoiceReturns/ provides details regarding the presentations she has co-produced.  
 Susan continues to be part of the 1001 Friday Nights of Storytelling Coordinating Committee and is a member of three storytelling boards. She is the author of two books. 

In keeping with social responsibility, she donates a percentage of her storytelling income to a charity.
		 For information on contacting her, the chronology of her storytelling journey, and/or purchasing her books, go to her website at https://www.boucaudinthestory.com/
		
Kesha Christie. Kesha is a dynamic storyteller and speaker who  connects people and cultures through African and Caribbean folktales. Her stories hook listeners and ignite the imagination. She has shared stories with listeners in the Caribbean, India, and across Canada, performing in schools and libraries and at festivals, and community, corporate, and special events.
		
Kesha has a weekly podcast called Walk Good and a YouTube channel under Talkin’ Tales, which amplify the power of stories. She is a former board member of the Storytellers of Canada, and founder of an annual storyteller and cultural event, which celebrates the oral tradition and showcases local entrepreneurs in the community. For more information visit www.talkintales.ca
Dr. George Elliott Clarke. A poet laureate of Toronto and Canada, George hails from Nova Scotia and since 1960 has been a scholar of African-Canadian literature at the University of Toronto. He has taught at McGill, Duke, and Harvard universities and at the University of British Columbia.
His acclaimed titles include Whylah Falls, Beatrice Chancy, Execution Poems, Traverse, and J’Accuse. He wrote the libretto for James Rolfe’s tragic opera Beatrice Chancy. He is the recipient of numerous awards, and his work has been recognized in Romania, Italy, and China. 
Dr. Rita Cox. Rita is an award-winning master storyteller who has performed across North America and in Europe, Brazil, and the Caribbean – on stage, radio, and television. She teaches courses, leads workshops and seminars, and performs for adults and children. She has served as chairperson of the Board of Storytelling Toronto. 
Rita’s stories from the Caribbean, Africa, and around the world have appeared in many anthologies and school readers. in 1997 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada and is a recipient of honorary degrees from York and Wilfred Laurier universities and of the 1995 Black Achievement Award. Her publications includeThe Pre School Story Hour and How Trouble Made the Monkey Eat Pepper.
Tejal Dodhia.Tejal is the owner and CEO of the Thika Cloth Mills in Nairobi, Kenya. (More text to come)
Dr. Sarah Fee. Sarah is senior curator of Global Fashion & Textiles at the Royal Ontario Museum and teaches in the Art History Department of the University of Toronto. Trained in anthropology and African studies, Sarah focuses her primary research on the textile arts of Madagascar  and the textiles trades of the western Indian Ocean world. She recently joined an international team studying the textiles imported into Ethiopia from 1500 to 1900.
		
Rosa Fracassa. Rosa is chair of the School of Fashion and Jewellery at George Brown College.  Rosa has  master’s degrees in degree in Italian studies and drama and is working on her PhD dissertation in drama. She has worked  teaching children as well as in theatre and event production. With a passion for sustainability, Rosa is  involved in many projects with faculty and students in  fashion and jewellery.

Dr. Fatima Hamlaoui. Fatima is an associate  professor in the Department of French at the University of Toronto. She received a PhD in theoretical and formal linguistics from the University of Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle in 2009 and for almost 15 years has been working on describing, analyzing, and comparing Sub-Saharan African languages, particularly from the Bantu family. She is currently working on a project on the relationship between trauma, working memory, and language among survivors of the Rwandan genocide living in Canada.
		 Kobena Aquaa-Harrison. Kobè is an accomplished Ghanaian-Bermudian performer, producer, composer and storyteller, garnering many awards for his prolific work in music, media, film, television, dance, and theatre. 

Kobè’s trademark “afrosonic jollof” is “the sound when jazz, rock, reggae, and hip hop come face to face with their ancestors.” With all-star band members hailing from Trinidad to Tanzania, Algeria to South Africa, his Djungle Bouti Orchestra”unleashes melodic safaris wafting over dense forests of rhythms and often hilarious interactive storytelling. The orchestra’s Djazz  2.1.4 album has been called “an audio decoding of African DNA.” 

He also performs solo internationally  on electric and acoustic instruments designed and built by himself. This includes the rare "seperewa,” a 17th-century Akan harp-lute.
		
As a former AfroFest President/Artistic Director and prime-time radio host, the Michèzo! Festival founder also moonlights as director of cultural development at Abandze Embassy, a multifaceted creative studio in the heart of Toronto’s Queen West arts triangle. 
		
Sarah B. Hood. Sarah is a professor in the School of Fashion & Jewellery, Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology, at George Brown College.
		
Over the past three decades, she has built a national reputation as a journalist and book author publishing hundreds of articles for such outlets as the National Post, Canadian Business, and TVOntario. She has been shortlisted for the National Magazine Awards and Taste Canada, the Food Writing Awards.
		
Sarah has taught at George Brown College since 1998, where she has designed courses on journalism and business writing specifically for fashion students. Students in her journalism course publish a fashion magazine called Oh, George! Sarah has also served as creative director for many editions of the year-end fashion show, THREADS.
		
A founder of Cadmus Communications,  Sarah managed public relations for projects including Caribana, First Night, and the AfriCanadian Playwrights Festival. 

Jayshree Khimasia. Of Indian ancestry, Jaishree was born and brought up in Nairobi, Kenya. A Canadian citizen for over 40 years Jayshree is a fashion designer by trade and also a watercolour and ceramic artist. 
		
In the past 15 years, she has became involved in repurposing silk saris in India, teaching rural women’s groups and employing them to do the hand stitching. She is a volunteer at the Royal Ontario Museum and chairs the Friends of Textiles and Costumes at the ROM. 
	
Anthony Morgan. Anthony is the new co-host of The Nature of Things on CBC Television and  an award-winning science communicator, PhD researcher, startup founder, and game designer who has hosted dozens of TV programs. He's obsessed with changing how people see, think and talk about science in their everyday lives. Anthony has worked at the Ontario Science Centre and with Asap SCIENCE, written for newspapers, hosted CBC Radio, and collaborated with municipal governments He also serves on the steering committee of the misinformation-tackling Science Up First. This work and more has earned him multiple distinctions and award nominations including a Falling Walls nomination for breakthrough science engagement initiative and being named one of CBC's top 20 millennial change-makers.

Dunstan Morgan. Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Dunstan came to Canada as a foreign student and created a successful pathway for himself. He studied natural sciences at the University of Western Ontario and then business at George Brown College. Now he combines a passion for healthcare with his business experience, and is currently a specialist in supply chain, materials, and logistics management in a healthcare system.

Tracing his ancestry back to 1792, Dunstan has a remarkable family history and a well-documented African family story to tell.  

Johnny Collins Musinga.  Johnny hails from Uganda and is married with three young children. He fled his country in June 2022 and is now seeking asylum in Canada. 

Wairimu Nduati. Wairimu, a parishioner at the cathedral, is of Kikuyu and Maasai (from her maternal grandfather) lineage. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario in economics and sociology specializing in minority groups, she works in Toronto’s downtown core as a legal ethics and risk analyst. 

She is a passionate believer in the authenticity of African fashion and design and she dabbles in modelling African couture whenever possible. 
 
Caron Phinney. Caron is an assistant professor and undergraduate director of the fashion program at Metropolitan University. She holds an MA in the history of decorative arts and design from Brighton University, UK, and a bachelor of design from the (the former) Ryerson School of Fashion. 

Saikou Saho.  A cultural ambassador and percussionist from Gambia, Saiku has been teaching African drumming for over 25 years. He facilitates drum-building programs in Toronto schools, prisons, and communities where history and culture are part of the hands-on lesson. Saho owns the Kensington Market store and gathering spot  African Drums and Arts Crafts. As an elder in Toronto’s African, Gambian, and other drumming communities, he has been a leading figure in many community endeavours featuring the healing and unifying power of the drum, the beat, and the rhythms of the Motherland.
Daryl Williams. Born in Toronto of Antiguan heritage, Daryl has been a member of the Pan Fantasy Steel Orchestra in North York since 2005 and plays professionally at weddings, birthday parties, funerals, corporate events, and festivals.
Daryl was introduced to the steel pan in Antigua and Barbuda at the age of 12, but his involvement with music dates back to age 8 when he began singing as a choirboy at St. Thomas Anglican Church in downtown Toronto. Currently he can be seen at Toronto’s Harbourfront, the Farmer's Market, at a Beach Resort on Rice Lake, and at music festivals in the Toronto area.

Maged Zareef. Maged is a lute player and singer who arrived in Canada from Egypt on July 1, 2021, and founded the takht, or oriental, band “Let’s Sing,” in which members perform in Arabic and play the traditional instruments of oud, tabla, and qanun. Maged is a graduate of the Institute of Oriental Music in Cairo and will be bringing three members of his band: Sally Ismail, Irahim Khaled, and Maher Shaker.

EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS AND PHOTOS
GB students evaluating fabrics for fashiion show, Nancy & co at Egyptian Museum, group shots of committree members and other participants, possible shots of important items on display in exhibits

EXHIBIT DONORS

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Yosola Sholagbade-Adeoye. Exhibit contributor, presenter, responsible for Sunday program in cathedral, African foods
Susan Ida Boucaud. Story telling and story tellers
Pauline Brown. Exhibit design and set up and assistant, fashion show
Ruth Davis. Outreach across the Caribbean diaspora, research
Honora Dines. Volunteer coordinator
David Grant. Timer for formal presentations, leader panel discussions
Ric Hillyer. Finance and coordinator of Sunday music in cathedral
Deborah Karowo. African Foods
Jayshree Khimasia. Fashion show, contributor to the exhibit, presenter
Nancy Mallett. Programming, research, African foods
Ed McDonough. Photographer and publicity layouts
Dunstan Morgan, Contributor to exhibit, presenter
Johnny Collins Musinga. Presenter and assistant, security
Wairimu Nduati, Contributor to exhibit, presenter
Yvonne Odhomi. Assistant exhibit set-up
Eileen Smith. Registration
Diana Swift. Research, presenter recruitment, and communications
The Very Rev’d Peter Wall. Host

GENERAL PLANNING COMMITTEE
Extending across the city, planning has included not only members of he Executive Committee but also contributors from the St. Lawrence neighbourhood  and across the city who participated in monthly meetings over the past year.   

Julia Brucculieri. Curatorial and collections coordinator, Textile Museum of Canada

Brenda Foreman. Honorary consul, Consulate of Sain. Kitts and Nevis, Toronto, and co-founder and creative director of African Fashion Week Toronto

Rosa Fracassa, Acting chair, School of Fashion and Jewellery & Fashion Exchange, George Brown College.  Responsible for Fashion Show in coordination with Caron Phinney and Jayshree Khimasia and Pauline Brown

EXPAND????Kathy Grant. Founder, The Legacy Voices Institute

Bannard John. Exhibit contributor and recruiter of musicians from Sierra Leone in the Sunday music program in the Cathedral 

Sharon McMillan. Board member, St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood Association

Caron Phinney. Associate professor of Fashion Design Technology and Diversity, The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University

Robyn Posner. Director, marketing, events & member services, St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood Business Improvement Association

Rosemary Sadlier. Author and speaker whose family arrived in Canada in 1783 and past president of the Ontario Black History Association
 
Leah Sanchez. Senior manager, community engagement and learning, Textile Museum of Canada

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS