Fields of the Future Bard Graduate Center

In the final episode of the season, join our host and an artist-educator as we talk about the broader Yorùbá textile canon — which has existed dynamically for centuries, and made it possible for lace to come on the scene. We move through enduring adages about dress & appearance, marvel at the labor-intensive openwork of handwoven aṣọ òkè, dive into the intricate patterns of àdìrẹ, and consider how textile artists are responding to lace till today.

An interactive micro-exhibition and podcast where we talk about laces—originally Austrian-made, but now produced globally—in Nigerian culture.

In our season opener, two and a half generations of a Nigerian diasporic family sit around the table to talk about some of our favorite laces. We bounce from “classics,” like Swiss voile and French lace, to the latest trends, like sequins and beading on netting, or tulle. Come sit with us as we reflect on how tastes have changed, gist about our likes (and dislikes), and wonder where things might be headed.

An interactive micro-exhibition and podcast where we talk about laces—originally Austrian-made, but now produced globally—in Nigerian culture.

Think of the fabrics around you growing up—is there a familiar stack of textiles, patterns, or garments? How did they get there? In this episode, we talk about how laces made in Austria landed thousands of miles away in the wardrobes of Nigerians, and the things that happened along the way as Nigerians remade these laces in their own image. It’s a story of evolving tastes, enduring culture, trade policies, industry crises, and more.

An interactive micro-exhibition and podcast where we talk about laces—originally Austrian-made, but now produced globally—in Nigerian culture.

As soon one hears that Baba so-and-so is celebrating his 70th, the next question might be, “Is there aṣọ ẹbí for the event?” In this episode, we talk about aṣọ ẹbí, our community practice that fuels the buying, selling, and wearing of textiles for celebrations in Nigerian communities.

In This Episode
Peter N. Miller speaks to Brandon R. Byrd, historian of Black intellectual and social history, about the scope of intellectual history, the “rise” of Black intellectual history, and the urgent necessity to incorporate stories and knowledges that have been left out of the field. Through lively and deliberate intellectual exchange, Byrd and Miller explore a discipline in flux.

In This Episode
Christina De León speaks to Tanya Aguiñiga about Metabolizing the Border, the performative embodiment of her engagement with the people and the landscape at the borderlands between Mexico and the US. With frank candor, Aguiñiga describes her years on the road and the environment, politics, and trauma that animate her work, as well as the emotional and spiritual difficulty of the performance and its aftermath.