Museum of the African Diaspora and Zuri present

A conversation about contemporary African wax print design. Longtime SF Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik will be in conversation with Dr. Leslie Rabine and MoAD Teaching Artist Clara Kamunde about the history of wax prints, how designs develop and disseminate, and the meanings of the motifs and larger meaning of fabric across the African continent. The conversation will be followed by a reception and the debut of Zuri's newest wax print textile designed in collaboration with Kenyan artist Dennis Muraguri.

Leah Garchik washed up on the shores of Fifth and Mission in 1972, began her duties as a part-time temporary steno clerk, and has done everything around the Chronicle including washing the dishes (her coffee cup). Over the years, she has served as writer, reviewer, editor and columnist. She is the author of two books, “San Francisco: Its Sights and Secrets” and “Real Life Romance."

She is an avid knitter, a terrible accordion player, a sporadic tweeter and a pretty good speller.

Leslie Rabine is Professor Emerita of Women and Gender Studies and French at UC Davis.  A scholar and photographer of African fashion, textiles, and graffiti art, she is the author of The Global Circulation of African Fashion (Berg/Bloomsbury, 2002) and co-author/editor/curator of African Print Fashion Now! (Fowler Museum/UW Press, 2017).  Leslie has been doing research with and supporting artists and craftspeople in Kenya and Senegal since 1995.  

She lives in San Francisco.

Clara Kamunde is a Kenyan-born visual and performing artist and Teaching Artist, and a proud cohort of the and evangelist for MoAD in the Classroom program. The oohs and aahs Clara gets when adorned in Zuri are music to her ears.

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About Zuri -- Meet your new uniform and it's made in Kenya. Just one piece for all women designed to be worn as a dress, shirt, jacket or skirt, Zuri is on a mission to change the way that women think about their closets. All you need is one dress, which comes in a variety of African wax prints, and you'll not only be supporting ethical manufacturing in Kenya, you'll simplify that agonizing process of deciding what to wear every morning.  With a broad range of sizes and a perfect fit for all, this truly is one dress for all women.

Find Zuri in the MoAD gift shop and at 1902B Fillmore St, SF.