Brooklyn Museum First Saturdays July 2023

Celebrate the opening of Africa Fashion and the installation Sakimatwemtwe: A Century of Reflection on the Arts of Africa, which marks the hundredth anniversary of our watershed exhibition of African artworks. July’s First Saturday features a glamorous lineup of fashion, music, dance, film, shopping, and conversation that honors African heritage.

This program is free; registration is required and includes Museum general admission. Member tickets to the exhibition are free.

Theme: Africa Fashion

Schedule
MUSIC: LOLLISE
Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Lobby, 1st Floor
5–6 pm
A musician, fashion designer, and visual artist from Botswana, Lollise tells multidimensional stories of real and imagined worlds through sound, color, and movement.

HANDS-ON ART
Brooklyn Museum Plaza
5–7 pm
Design a kente cloth–inspired print using cyanotype paper. (Rain location: Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor)

BROOKLYN POP-UP MARKET
Beaux-Arts Court, 3rd Floor
5–9:30 pm
Shop one-of-a-kind, handmade items from more than thirty artisans and vendors across Brooklyn, featuring artwork, jewelry, fashion, and home and apothecary goods that highlight African heritage. Plus, don’t miss delicacies from Brooklyn’s finest African restaurants, selected in collaboration with Africa Restaurant Week 2023.

WORKSHOP: CUMBE DANCE
Brooklyn Museum Plaza
5:30–7:30 pm
Experience the joy and vitality of rhythms rooted in Africa with a Kongobeats, Mutuashi, and Afrobeat movement workshop led by Cumbe Dance and accompanied by the Batalá Drummers. (Rain location: Beaux-Arts Court, 3rd Floor)

ROUNDTABLE: TALKING CLOTH
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor
5:30–7 pm
Curators Ernestine White-Mifetu and Annissa Malvoisin guide us through the creative process of bringing Africa Fashion to the heart of Brooklyn. Fashion designer Oluwole Olosunde and textile artist Malaika Temba join them to discuss the intersections of fashion, textiles, culture, and identity.

TEEN TALKS: AFRICAN ART
Arts of Africa Galleries, 3rd Floor
6–7 pm
Join the Teen Museum Apprentices as they host ten-minute pop-up talks in Sakimatwemtwe: A Century of Reflection on the Arts of Africa.

BOOK CLUB: NANA EKUA BREW-HAMMOND AND CHIWONISO KAITANO
American Art Galleries, 5th Floor
7–8 pm
Join author Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond and Chiwoniso Kaitano, executive director of the artists’ residency program MacDowell, in an intimate conversation about Brew-Hammond’s recently published books Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky and Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices.

MUSIC: ELI FOLA
Beaux-Arts Court, 3rd Floor
7–10 pm
Don’t miss the immersive and healing experience of Yoruba Tech Soul, an innovative fusion of Afro house, techno, jazz, and classical music brought to you by Nigerian sound artist, saxophonist, DJ, and producer Eli Fola.

MUSIC: AQ
Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden, 1st Floor
7:30–9:30 pm
Vibe with Afrikan Queen, a Harlem native of South African and Guinean descent, who brings together Afro house, Afrobeat, gqom, and amapiano sounds. (Rain location: Lobby, 1st Floor)

FILM: A TRIBUTE TO M’BISSINE THÉRÈSE DIOP
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor
8–10 pm
Celebrate the legacy of Senegalese actress M’Bissine Thérèse Diop (born 1949) by watching her star in Ousmane Sembène’s landmark film Black Girl (1966, 55 min.). Then, hear about Diop’s experience as a Black actor in the 1960s by watching her in Johanna Makabi’s documentary Notre mémoire (2021, 12 min.). Presented in partnership with the African Film Festival. This program may not be suitable for all audiences.

MUSIC: KALETA & SUPER YAMBA BAND
Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Lobby, 1st Floor
9–10 pm
Experience the psychedelic folk and soul sounds of Brooklyn’s Kaleta & Super Yamba Band, fronted by Afrobeat and juju veteran Leon “Kaleta” Ligan-Majekodunmi.