Addoley Dzegede: millefiori
March 12, 2020 - September 2020
Addoley Dzegede is a curious artist who loves to travel and learn about what people from cultures around the world have made, used, and found to be important to them. She likes to use bright colors and uncover the stories of items she grew up with and objects she sees in museums. She has found that being an artist is a great way to ask questions and tell stories. Some of these have been: what does it mean to belong, and who decides who or what belongs? What are things that are special to a place, and which things are borrowed, adopted, or stolen from other places and cultures? Through art, she is able to tell stories about herself and connections between different people throughout time.
For millefiori, Addoley Dzegede looked at and mimicked images of glass beads used in the African trade by European export/import merchants. Many of these beads were grouped and listed as being traded specifically for gold, ivory, palm oil and worst of all, slaves. Dzegede reflects on how the value of something can change over time as a way for us to think about what we value today and at what cost.
In anticipation of Addoley Dzegede’s exhibition at KSMoCA, our PSU students created a zine to share her work with students at Dr. MLK Jr School. Click here to download the zine.
Addoley Dzegede is an artist who grew up in Florida, but has lived in many places as an adult, including Italy, England, The Netherlands, and New Zealand. She likes to experiment and use a lot of different kinds of materials, but for the past few years, she has been mainly working with dyeing and sewing to make large colorful pieces that look kind of like things she grew up with: fabric and beads that her parents brought from Ghana. Even as a kid, she was an artist, but also at some points has wanted to be a writer. She went to a college where everyone made art and no one had to take math, though now she wishes she had a bit more experience with geometry because she uses it a lot to make her work. She also studied writing there, which she found has been really important to being an artist.
Fabric Dyeing workshop led by Addoley Dzegede with Ms. Dekker’s 5th Grade Class
Students in Ms. Dekker’s 5th grade class participated in a dyeing workshop led by the Dzegede to produce their work included in the exhibition. They used dye that has been thickened with a seaweed paste to paint on fabric. They discussed questions such as: What are shapes and colors that people have found to be beautiful? What have they been willing to do to have them?
Exhibition Opening and Lecture
Addoley Dzegede gave a lecture on her work in the school library. Then we had a mid-morning exhibition opening reception. Students from Ms. Dekker’s 5th grade class gave a tour of the exhibition and explained their work and process.
At each KSMoCA exhibition opening, the students involved in the exhibition lead group or individual tours of the exhibition. Families, classmates, school staff, and members of the public are all invited to attend and celebrate. The exhibition then remains on view at the school for the entire academic quarter.
