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West Africa in Manchester: Fabric, Patterns and Design

Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor

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West Africa in Manchester: Fabric, Patterns and Design

The Portico Library, Chinatown
24 February-8 April 2023
Date
Time
Session Features
24 Feb 2023
12:21 pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Free
Kebin Dalton-Johnson
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Manchester’s fabric history is well documented and the Portico will be hosting two women who designed patterns for fabrics made in Manchester for export to Ghana and Nigeria from the 1960s onwards. West Africa in Manchester is a conversation with Margaret Hickson and Ann. These two women worked on beautiful batik, floral and other designs inspired and informed by African decorative arts. They will bring their pattern books, material and designs to show how commissions were made to shimmer in the West African sunshine.

This event will explore objects related to Manchester’s fashion and fabric industry and makes us think Manchester’s place in the world. The talk will be chaired by Portico Drector (trustee) Kevin Dalton-Johnson, who is an internationally commissioned artist and the person who created Lancaster’s Captured Africans, the first public sculpture at a UK quayside to memorialise enslaved Africans.

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