What stories do coins carry beyond their economic value? In this online program, Ex‑Change co-curator Carlee S. Forbes is joined by Professor Andrew Apter of UCLA Departments of History and Anthropology for a conversation about the role of coins, tokens, and counters in African cultural and ritual systems.

Drawing on the Fowler’s African collections and Apter’s scholarship on Yoruba ritual economies, the discussion will explore coins as conduits of memory, belief, and power. These objects transcend monetary function as they participate in spiritual, aesthetic, and historical narratives. Together, Forbes and Apter will consider how these small, everyday forms reflect vast networks of exchange, colonial histories, and symbolic meanings across time.

Carlee S. Forbes is associate curator of African and Oceanic art at the Baltimore Museum of Art. She received her Ph.D. in art history from UNC-Chapel Hill and was previously part of the Mellon-funded research team at the Fowler Museum. Her work focuses on the intersections of material culture, colonial histories, and museum collections.

Andrew Apter is a professor of history and anthropology at UCLA; his work bridges philosophy, sociocultural anthropology, and African studies with a focus on West Africa and the Black Atlantic. His research explores power, ritual, and cultural production as seen in such his works: Black Critics and Kings, The Pan-African Nation, and Beyond Words. A founding member of UCLA’s Atlantic History Cluster, Apter continues to examine Afro-Atlantic ritual archives and the historical dynamics of slavery and capitalism, most recently in Oduduwa’s Chain and in his current project, History in the Dungeon.

Unidentified artist(s), (Kanuri, Nigeria), tuo (ceremonial container), mid- 20th century; vegetable fiber, cowrie shells, foil, coins; Fowler Museum at UCLA, X86.2618; Gift of Jim and Jeanne Pieper