In 1988 the Fowler Museum lent a group of hats to the exhibition Dressing the Head: More than a Matter of Taste at the Gallery of Art, University of Missouri, Kansas City. The guest curator was Mary Jo Arnoldi from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The exhibition explored the cultural importance of the head among many African groups through hats and headwear—objects that were both recognizable and accessible to gallery visitors, many of whom had little or no previous interaction with African arts. In February 1994 Doran called Mary Jo in Washington to ask whether she would consider reprising Dressing the Head at the Fowler. Doran explained that the Fowler had a gap in its schedule because objects for its planned exhibition on Haitian Vodou were embargoed in Port-au-Prince. Always delighted to work on any project with Doran, Mary Jo immediately agreed. Never one to let grass grow...
Crowning Achievements: African Arts of Dressing the Head Unavailable
Mary Jo Arnoldi is Curator Emerita and Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History. There she has co-curated numerous exhibits including African Voices, the museum's permanent exhibition on African and African Diaspora history and culture (1999), Mud Masons of Mali (2014) and Objects of Wonder (2019) [email protected]
Christine Mullen Kreamer is Deputy Director and Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the National Museum of African Art. There she has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions, including Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art (2007) and African Cosmos: Stellar Arts (2012). [email protected]
Mary Jo Arnoldi is Curator Emerita and Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History. There she has co-curated numerous exhibits including African Voices, the museum's permanent exhibition on African and African Diaspora history and culture (1999), Mud Masons of Mali (2014) and Objects of Wonder (2019) [email protected]
Christine Mullen Kreamer is Deputy Director and Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the National Museum of African Art. There she has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions, including Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art (2007) and African Cosmos: Stellar Arts (2012). [email protected]
Mary Jo Arnoldi, Christine Mullen Kreamer; Crowning Achievements: African Arts of Dressing the Head. African Arts 2022; 55 (1): 45–47. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/afar_a_00631
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