July 17–October 23, 2022
Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence showcases a new form of bead art, the ndwango (“cloth”), developed by a community of women living and working together in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The six artists featured in the exhibition call their paintings in beads ndwangos, which translates as “cloth” or “rag.” The black fabric on which the Ubuhle women work is reminiscent of the Xhosa headscarves and skirts which many of them grew up wearing. By stretching this textile like a canvas, the artists transform the flat cloth into a contemporary art form with colored Czech glass beads.
Using skills handed down through generations, and working in their own unique style “directly from the soul,” according to artist Ntombephi Ntobela, the women create abstract as well as figurative subjects for their ndwangos.
Ubuhle means “beauty” in the Xhosa and Zulu languages and it describes the shimmering quality of light on glass that for the Xhosa people has a particular spiritual significance. From a distance, each panel seems to be formed from a continuous surface, but as each tiny individual bead catches the light, the viewer becomes aware of the meticulous skill that went into each work and the scale of ambition: a single panel can take more than 10 months to complete.
Global and Contemporary: Ubuhle at MAG
Opening Program | Sunday, July 17 | 2-3 pm
The Beauty of Beadwork: A Tour of Ubuhle Women
Thursday, August 4 | 6-7 pm
Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence was developed by the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, Washington, DC in cooperation with Curators Bev Gibson, Ubuhle Beads, and James Green, and is organized for tour by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.
Supporting Sponsors
Rubens Family Foundation
Associate Sponsors
Paul Marc and Pamela Miller Ness
Marion Swett Robinson
Contributing Sponsors
Caitlin and Benn Kireker
Fellow Sponsors
Mary Ellen Burris
Mary Goldman Crowe
The Rochester (NY) Chapter, The Links
Friend Sponsors
Dr. Mattie Alleyne
Carolyn Ettinger
Barbara, Daniel, Lisa, and Susan Hoffman
Mark and Mona Friedman Kolko
Theta Alpha Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta
Additional Sponsors
Joyce Boucher
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
Marilynn Patterson Grant and David Grant
Dr. Karal Ann Marling
Memorial Art Gallery Endowed Fund Support
Thomas and Marion Hawks Memorial Fund
Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull Fund
Nancy R. Turner Fund for Special Exhibitions
