Textiles Tell OUR Stories: Celebrating the BU Community
Photo by Kelly Davidson
On display | Richards-Frost Room | Mugar Memorial Library
Textiles Tell OUR Stories: Celebrating the BU Community displays garments and cloths contributed by BU students, faculty, and staff and describes in their own words the significance that these garments hold for them. This community exhibition complements the BU Libraries Special Collections exhibition Textiles Tell Stories: Exploring the African Studies Library Collection
About the Exhibition
Photo by Kelly Davidson
The textiles we wear communicate who we are. Our clothing is an outward expression of identity and belonging. To the casual observer, clothes may simply be fashion. But for the wearer and their community, they tell stories—stories of family connection, of culture, of confidence, of pride and belonging. Here, our Boston University community shares the stories of textiles in their lives.
Most of the panels of cloth displayed in Textiles Tell Stories: Exploring the African Studies Library Collection are textiles in their most basic form: rectangular pieces of cloth that you might purchase from a shop or acquire from a textile mill. However it is through the transformation of these textiles to clothing that their purpose and meaning are revealed. This community exhibition showcases such garments on loan from our own students and staff and recognizes, in their own words, the stories and the significance ascribed to them.
The individuals represented in this room are part of a greater legacy. For decades, BU has been the academic home of countless students and scholars either from Africa or deeply connected to it. These include African students who found their place here, such as Nigerian playwright Ola Rotimi (BFA ‘64), and African American students, such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS ‘55, Hon. ‘59), whose paths led them to the continent in solidarity and advocacy. BU staff and faculty, such as Howard Thurman, Adelaide Cromwell, and President Harold Case, also strengthened the University’s connections to the continent through travel and education.
Today, the African Studies Center, African American & Black Diaspora program and no less than 12 African student groups continue to advance this connection and build community among BU’s significant and wonderfully diverse population of students, faculty, and staff from across Africa and beyond.
These textiles tell their stories.
These textiles tell OUR stories.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Exhibition Contributors
Basil Adamah
Nneka Agba
Cynthia Becker
Rebecca Fekru
Victoria Gorman
Naveen Inim
Chiharu Kamimura
Lesya Kuzyk
Bright Nogoh
Seth Kwabena (Cobey) Ofori
Addi Ouadderrou
Amy Luecht
Jim Racette
Beth Restrick
Avenie Seynedhee
Mustard Uzu
Elsa Wiehe (on behalf of Yara Munif & Zoya Munif)
Textiles Tell Stories: Exploring the African Studies Library Collection
(Seventh National Youth Festival Commemorative Textile, Agadez, Niger; 1982. From the Collection of the African Studies Library at Boston University Libraries. A Gift of J. Sullivan)
A Special Collections Exhibition by the Boston University Libraries
In Support of Boston University Diversity & Inclusion's 2024–25 Learn More Theme: Indigenous Identities and Experience
On display through 2025 | Gotlieb Gallery | Mugar Memorial Library
Textile Calendar for the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture. Nigeria; 1977. From the Collection of the African Studies Library at Boston University Libraries. A Gift of J. Sullivan.
Textiles are some of the building blocks of everyday life. Textiles are materials made by humans or machines linking fibers together into a new form. Your T-shirt, your backpack, the carpet underneath your feet: All are examples of textiles.
But textiles are so much more than just material—and can hold radically different meanings when seen in different cultural contexts. Textiles have historically and continue to play an important role for those living in Africa and its diasporas. Textiles are primary sources that speak across decades as to how people felt about politicians, what events were celebrated (or resisted), and which ideas or new technologies were most valued. Many offer ways of understanding how people saw the world at an exact moment in time.
Curated by our African Studies librarians and faculty and scholars of BU’s History of Art & Architecture department, this exhibition of the African Textiles Collection held at the BU Libraries displays innovations from the African continent and provides an overview of how symbolic, political, and ceremonial textiles have been used in Africa and continue to have significance today.
Through the more than 40 pieces of textiles on display, this exhibition invites visitors to make their own connections.
Textiles tell stories. What stories will you uncover?
A complementary community exhibit, Textiles Tell OUR Stories, displays garments and cloths contributed by BU students, faculty, and staff and describes in their own words the significance that these garments hold for them.
Visit the Gotlieb Gallery on the first floor of Mugar Memorial Library, during regular library hours. View our visitor policy non-BU community members and request to visit.
News & Events
Photo by Jake Belcher
Textiles Tell Stories Highlights BU Libraries African Textiles Collection (by Sujena Soumyanath, BU Today, April 11, 2025)
On a recent Wednesday evening, Mugar Memorial Library looked a little different. From the back of the library, beyond the rows of students silently studying, emanated the sound of African music and the aroma of plantains and jollof rice. Colorful textiles lined the walls, and the space was humming with BU community members. Continue reading.
Photo by Cydney Scott
BU Today Close Up: Behind the Curtain (March 17, 2025)
While students study, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center exhibits manager Chris Gately sets up the upcoming exhibition of African textiles, Textiles Tells Stories: Exploring the African Studies Library Collection, at Mugar Memorial Library. Read more. Photo by Cydney Scott
About the Collection
Preserving textiles is a way to preserve histories.
Prior to 2015, Boston University’s African Studies Library (ASL) was in possession of a single, very striking kanga from Tanzania, belonging to its late Head Librarian, Gretchen Walsh.
In summer of 2016, Professor Emeritus John Hutchison offered the library a collection of textiles from West Africa (mostly Niger and Mali) along with items from his personal library. The librarians readily accepted them, aware of the work undertaken by Emilie Songolo at University of Wisconsin-Madison to spearhead the development of an African Commemorative Textiles collection and justify its place in a research library.
The collection continued to grow, largely through donations and by word of mouth. In 2020, Jo Sullivan donated a collection of 30 commemorative cloths, expanding the collection’s geographic range and contributing some truly valuable pieces, many of which are on display in this exhibition. The Holly Larner Collection at the African Studies Library also supplemented this collection with 31 samples of Vlisco Java Prints from the 1970s originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was called Zaire at the time. Today the African Textiles Collection encompasses some 218 cloths from, or acquired in, no less than 18 countries. Approximately 25% of these are true commemorative cloths, or factory-made printed textiles created and used to celebrate specific events, people, or historical occasions.
The textiles have become a key component of book exhibitions, class visits, and tours to the library. While many libraries limit their collections to print and digital materials, our library takes an innovative approach by collecting these textiles. Though unexpected in a library setting, these objects hold vital histories and have become a collection of interest in their own right, and are featured regularly in the courses ID116 (Africa Today) and AA/AH 114 (Kongo to Cuba) as a research archive by students and scholars. To that end, every textile on view in this exhibition was shaped by—and shaped—particular historical moments.
To learn more, and to see further examples, visit the African Studies Library on the 6th floor of Mugar Memorial Library or contact our staff to arrange a visit.
Mahamadou Issoufou Commemorative Textile. Niger; 2016. From the Collection of the African Studies Library at Boston University Libraries. A Gift of J. P. Hutchison
Acknowledgments
Exhibition Curatorial Team
Cynthia Becker – Chair & Professor of History of Art & Architecture Department, College of Arts and Science
Oriane Sophia DuBois – PhD Student; African Art
Rachel Dwyer – Assistant Head, African Studies Library, Boston University Libraries
Colleen Foran – PhD Candidate; African Art
Beth Restrick – Head, African Studies Library, Boston University Libraries
BU Libraries Exhibition Staff
Christopher Gately – Exhibits Manager
Nkechi Abraham – Student Assistant
Basil Adamah – Student Assistant
Gabe Adugna – Africana Librarian
Jack Campbell – Facilities Manager
Eleni Castro – Director, Digital Ventures
Ford Curran – Outreach Archivist
Hamed Diakite – Student Assistant
Shayla Fitzgerald – Administrative Coordinator
Riley Fitzpatrick – Student Assistant
Amanda Fowler – Digital Collections Librarian
Victoria Gorman – Student Assistant
Dawn Gross – Associate University Librarian for Planning and Operations
Kendall House – Student Assistant
Dominik Johnson – User Services Manager
Johanna Kaiser – Communications Manager
Jennifer King – Associate University Librarian for Special Collections
Yeabsera Mekebeb – Student Assistant
Nicole McCaffrey – Director of Finance and Business Services
Mark Newton – University Librarian
Michelle Niebur – Head of Access Services and Library Experience
Bright Nogoh – Student Assistant
Tochi Udeh – Student Assistant
Mustard Uzu – Student Assistant
Sami Wright – Digital Imaging Specialist
BU Campus Partners
African Studies Center
Arts and Sciences, History of Art and Architecture
Cynthia Becker - Chair
Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Learn More Series,
Mary Lai Rose - Assistant Director of Programs, BU Diversity & Inclusion
Student Label Writers from CAS AH 114 (Kongo to Cuba)
Lauren Boysa, Sofia Ford, Chakaiya Harrison, Allison Huang, Abby Hummert, Elena Jordan, Corinne Keaney, Maya Nesbit, Lisa Pacheco-Garces, Violet Paiva, Ana C. Rivera, Hector Rivera, Florence Sarni, Sara Sierra-Garcia, Oluwaseun Soyannwo, Marisa De La Villa, Miranda Wabl, Jocelyn White, Nyandeng Yak, Rex York
Textiles On Loan From
African Studies Center at Boston University,Cynthia Becker, Celeste Chaguala, Christa Clarke, Rachel Dwyer, J.P. Hutchison, Lesya Kuzyk, Philip Peek, Beth Restrick, Rhoda Restrick, Jo Sullivan, Jeff Turner, Maria Tavares, & Gretchen Walsh
Special thanks to our partners at R.H.C. General Contracting & Millwork and Fenway Group
Crafternoon @ BU Libraries: Krobo beads edition
Crafternoon @ BU Libraries: Krobo beads edition!
Monday, April 14, 4-6 pm
Mugar Memorial Library, 1st floor
On Monday, April 14, join the BU Libraries for an afternoon of treats and crafting celebrating our current exhibition, Textiles Tells Stories: Exploring the African Studies Library Collection.
We'll be on the first floor of Mugar Library from 4 to 6 pm, making bracelets using Ghanaian Krobo beads. These distinctive beads are crafted from recycled glass by artisans from the Krobo region in Ghana.
Drop by for a crafty study break, snacks, and to view the exhibit!
Enhance Your Library Research with AI – Last Sessions of the Semester!
Join us for the final two live Zoom sessions of the semester—offered at different times—where you'll learn how generative AI can boost your library research.
Topics include:
- Selecting the right AI tools for research.
- Crafting effective prompts to generate quality results.
- Integrating AI into your research workflow efficiently.
- Verifying and fact-checking AI-generated content.
- Citing AI tools and using AI for citations.
Session Dates:
📅 Monday, April 14, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Register Here
📅 Thursday, April 17, 2025 | 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Register Here
Explore our Generative AI Tools for Students library guide for some helpful resources.
For questions, please contact Brock Edmunds at edmundsb@bu.edu.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Enhance Your Library Research with AI: Upcoming Sessions
Join us for one of our upcoming Zoom sessions to discover how generative AI can enhance your library research with smarter tools and strategies.
Topics include:
- Selecting the right AI tools for research.
- Crafting effective prompts to generate quality results.
- Integrating AI into your research workflow efficiently.
- Verifying and fact-checking AI-generated content.
- Citing AI tools and using AI for citations.
Session Dates:
📅 Monday, March 31, 2025 | 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Register Here
📅 Thursday, April 3, 2025 | 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Register Here
Explore our Generative AI Tools for Students library guide for some helpful resources.
For questions, please contact Brock Edmunds at edmundsb@bu.edu.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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BU Libraries Invites Community to Exhibition Opening Celebration
On March 19, the BU Libraries will debut its newest exhibition, Textiles Tell Stories: Exploring the African Studies Library Collection, with a community celebration bringing together students, faculty, staff from across the BU community and beyond.
Textiles Tells Stories: Exploring the African Studies Library Collection, curated by members of the Special Collections division of the BU Libraries and BU’s History of Art & Architecture department, highlights the important role textiles play in Africa and its diasporas, commemorating major historical events, reflecting social status, and offering a glimpse into the diversity of African life. This exhibition of the African Textiles Collection held at the BU Libraries provides an overview of how symbolic, political, and ceremonial textiles have been used in Africa and how they continue to have significance today.
Opening Celebration of Textiles Tell Stories
Wednesday, March 19, 6-8 pm
Gotlieb Gallery of Mugar Memorial Library
771 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
During the Opening Celebration on Wednesday, March 19, from 6-8 pm in the Gotlieb Gallery of Mugar Memorial Library, attendees will learn about African textiles, listen to live Afro-Pop and Moz-Jazz music and enjoy West African food as they celebrate this new exhibition and our BU community. A special complementary exhibition, Textiles Tell OUR Stories, featuring textiles worn and used by members of our own BU community, will also be on display during the event and through the Spring 2025 semester.
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