Los Angeles, with its communities from around the world, is a melting pot of traditions and practices. During this period of Safer at Home, the Fowler is pleased to offer digital programs celebrating world arts and cultures. All programs are free. RSVP to receive the link to join.

Share the Mic
The Fowler believes in the civic duty of museums to give forum to different points of view. This series shares our platform with thought leaders—artists, activists, and allies—who are guiding us along the arc of justice.

The Brutish Museums | RSVP
Friday, February 12, 10 am–12pm

Dan Hicks, author, curator, and professor of Contemporary Archaeology at Oxford University, will present his recent publication, The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution, named by The New York Times one of the best art books of 2020.

Hicks’ remarks will be followed by a panel discussion with Natasha Becker, Curator of African Art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Marla C. Berns, Shirley & Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler Museum at UCLA; and Lauren Kroiz, Director of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley.

This program is presented in partnership with Ethnic Arts Council of Los Angeles, de Young Museum, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and UCSC Archaeological Research Center.

100 registrants are eligible for a 30% discount, a free eBook (value $10), and a signed bookplate at bit.ly/thebrutishmuseums. Use the discount code UNIHICKS. The book will be sent directly from Chicago to your home.

Global Cuisine Cooking Lessons
Variety is the spice of life. Learn how LA’s favorite international restaurants cook up their most famous, easy-to-make dishes in live cooking classes led by their chefs on Zoom. When food is your love language, some secrets are too good not to share.

Fat Tuesday with Harold & Belle’s | RSVP
Tuesday, February 16, 5–6 pm

LA’s famous Harold & Belle’s restaurant has been serving authentic Louisiana Creole Cuisine for over 50 years; Zagat declares that you’d “have to drive to Louisiana to do better.” Join the Fowler and Ryan Legaux, owner and chef of Harold & Belle’s, to celebrate Fat Tuesday the most appropriate way—with food! “Fat Tuesday,” or Mardi Gras, is perhaps best known in the U.S. as part of the Carnival in New Orleans. The phrase refers to the last night before Lent, when observant Christians can indulge in rich, fatty foods prior to a period of fasting. Don’t sleep on this chance to learn how to make jambalaya, the ultimate Creole dish traditionally consumed on Fat Tuesday. Ingredients list will be sent upon RSVP. Come with supplies prepared and ready to cook!

Program recording: “Global Cuisine Cooking Lessons: Harold & Belle’s,” February 16, 2021.

Fowler Talks
The Fowler is honored to be a convening place for conversations and lectures that explore the many ways art creates meaning and defines purpose for people across the globe.

Andrew LaMar Hopkins and Fabiola Jean-Louis | RSVP
Thursday, February 18, 11 am–12:00 pm

In celebration of Black History Month, the Fowler is honored to welcome painter Andrew LaMar Hopkins and photographer Fabiola Jean-Louis, two artists renowned for works that reclaim and reimagine Black histories that have been forgotten or silenced. Join the Fowler’s Curatorial and Research Associate of Haitian Arts, Katherine Smith, for a program with the artists who will share their work and discuss the influence of Haiti in New Orleans; Black glamour, gaze, and identity; and their personal stakes in changing historical narratives to celebrate Black bodies.

Andrew LaMar Hopkins (b. 1977, Mobile, AL) paints meticulous, lush, minute depictions of 19th-century interior scenes and architectural set pieces based on the histories of free Creole people in the antebellum American South. In 2020, Hopkins mounted a solo presentation, entitled Créolité, at Venus Over Manhattan in New York; it received coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Artforum, and New York magazine, among other prominent publications. Hopkins lives and works between New Orleans, LA, and Savannah, GA.

Fabiola Jean-Louis (b. 1978, Port Au Prince, Haiti) is creating an ongoing series, Rewriting History​, which consists of period paper gowns, painterly photographs, and Polaroids. The project was shown as a solo exhibition at Smithsonian affiliates DuSable Museum of African American History, Alan Avery Art Company, and Andrew Freedman Home, receiving critical acclaim. Jean-Louis was accepted into the highly sought-after residency at the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) in New York City, and in September 2019 at LUX Museum in San Diego. Her works have been featured in Elle Decor​, ​Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Artnet News, Hyperallergic, Chicago Sun Times, The Haitian Times,​ and other publications.

Program recording: “Fowler Talks: Andrew LaMar Hopkins and Fabiola Jean-Louis,” February 18, 2021.

Lunch & Learn
The Fowler’s Lunch & Learn series offers easily digestible explorations of charismatic objects from around the world in our permanent collection. Join us to chew on some sustenance and feed your mind during your lunch break.

Jain Shrine Hangings | RSVP
Monday, February 22, 2:30–3:00 pm

Join Joanna Barrkman, the Fowler’s Senior Curator of Southeast Asia and Pacific Arts, for a program exploring embroidered Jain temple and shrine hangings that offer insights into the religious beliefs and imagery of the Jain faith. Associated with the Svetambara (the white-clad) sect of Jainism, these textiles once formed backdrops to stone sculptures of gods—the 24 Jina or “victors”—in Jain temples. The works featured in this talk are from the Ronald and Maxine Linde Collection, part of a promised gift to UCLA, where it will find its future home with the Fowler Museum.

Joanna Barrkman is Senior Curator of Southeast Asian and Pacific Art at the Fowler Museum. She has published her research on double-ikat silk patola and mordant-block-printed cotton textiles imitating patola; they were produced and traded between Gujarat, India and Indonesia in 17th to 19th centuries. Barrkman’s work explores the influence of these Indian “trade textiles” on the design repertoire and ceremonial practices of Atoin meto people in West Timor, Indonesia.

Program recording: “Lunch & Learn: Jain Shrine Hangings,” February 22 2021.

Fowler Talks
The Fowler is honored to be a convening place for conversations and lectures that explore the many ways art creates meaning and defines purpose for people across the globe.

Komfa and the Ritual Embrace of Shaded Heritages | RSVP
Tuesday, February 23, 11 am–12 pm

Join us to celebrate Mashramani—Guyana’s annual “carnival” commemorating the South American nation’s formal severing of ties with the British Crown—and the Guyanese ritual of dance, drumming, and altar-making called Komfa. The program, led by UCLA scholar Jeremy Jacob Peretz, will explore through the lens of Guyana’s religious material culture how Komfa encourages devotees in “the Land of Six Peoples” to embrace marginalized aspects of their heritage and “shaded” facets of themselves—known in Guyana’s Creolese language as jumbi, or “ghosts.”

This program is generously supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Jeremy Jacob Peretz is a Lecturer in UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, where he recently earned his Ph.D. in Culture and Performance. In Spring 2021, Peretz will begin teaching in the Department of History and Caribbean Studies at the University of Guyana. His research has focused on intersections of religious and racial politics in the southern Caribbean.

Program recording: “Fowler Talks: Komfa and the Ritual Embrace of Shaded Heritages,” February 23 2021.

Share the Mic
The Fowler believes in the civic duty of museums to give forum to different points of view. This series shares our platform with thought leaders—artists, activists, and allies—who are guiding us along the arc of justice

The Care We Create | RSVP
Thursday, February 25, 4–5 pm

ACLU Southern California and artist Audrey Chan revealed a massive mural in Los Angeles last month; it depicts major figures in the fight for civil liberties and civil rights in Southern California. The 5,500-square-foot painting is the product of ACLU SoCal’s inaugural artist-in-residency program and serves as a “constant reminder that the work of challenging systems that perpetuate injustice is a profound expression of love and compassion.” Join Audrey Chan, Marcus Benigno, ACLU SoCal’s Chief Communications & Marketing Officer, and two activists featured in the mural—Janaya Future Khan and Marjan Vayghan—for a conversation about this project and the power of art to advocate for social change.

Audrey Chan is a Los Angeles-based artist and educator. Her research-based projects use drawing, painting, video, and public art to challenge dominant historical narratives through allegories of power, place, and identity. She received an M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts and a B.A. with Honors from Swarthmore College. She was commissioned by LA Metro to create a large-scale public artwork for the future Little Tokyo/Arts District Metro Station, opening in 2022.

Marcus Benigno is Chief Communications & Marketing Officer at the ACLU of Southern California. Since 2016, he has led the communications and media advocacy arm for the affiliate. Previously, Benigno was a freelance correspondent abroad, reporting for domestic and international outlets. He earned his degree in International Development Studies from McGill University and is currently a member of the board of directors for the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust.

Program recording: “Share the Mic: The Care We Create,” February 25 2021.

DISRUPT the Fowler
DISRUPT is a UCLA student design organization that aims to establish inclusive spaces and create opportunities for students of all backgrounds to engage in creative collaborations. The Fowler is honored to partner with DISRUPT to offer programs that break down barriers in the art world, and promote innovative ideation through inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility.

MOOSAJEE | RSVP
Saturday, February 27, 12–1 pm

Saad Moosajee is a DISRUPTOR in animation and academia, exploring new intersections between art and moving images in contemporary culture. He has directed videos for musicians, including Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Mitski, and Joji, that push the boundaries of visual storytelling through distinct art direction and experimental techniques. Moosajee’s use of technological media is strengthened by his meticulous attention to detail, and by leveraging the power of computation against the imperfections of human process to create complex imagery grounded in emotion. His dreamlike videos blur the boundaries between surrealism and escapism, providing windows into unseen cinematic worlds.

Moosajee’s work has received numerous honors, including a SXSW Special Jury Award, D&AD Graphite Pencil, UKMVA, and ADC Gold Cube. He has screened his videos at festivals and museums around the world, worked with Pixar and the Google Five team, taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and the School of Visual Arts, and was included in Forbes 30 Under 30: Art & Style list for 2020. Join us for a conversation with Moosajee about his path to success, and learn why you might not need that graduate degree to succeed, after all.

Program recording: “DISRUPT the Fowler: MOOSAJEE,” February 27, 2021.