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Bard Graduate Center is an advanced graduate research institute in New York City dedicated to the cultural histories of the material world. Our MA and PhD degree programs, Gallery exhibitions, research initiatives, scholarly publications and public programs explore new ways of thinking about decorative arts, design history, and material culture.

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Applications for our MA program may be submitted until March 1, 2025





Research

Bard Graduate Center is a research institute for advanced, interdisciplinary study of diverse material worlds. We support the innovative scholarship of our faculty and students as well as resident fellows, guest curators and artists, and visiting speakers.

Photo by Fresco Arts Team.

Our Public Humanities + Research department focuses on making scholarly work widely available and accessible through the coordination of the fellowship program and public programming that combines academic research with exhibition-related events. Across the institution—from the classroom to the gallery, from publications to this website—we utilize digital media to facilitate and share original research. This section outlines current programming and provides a repository for past scholarly content.
“They say that change is the only constant thing in life…culture is dynamic. It evolves. I do not agree with those who say that lace is not [part of our traditional attire]. My reason for this is simply because if you go to Lustenau, Vorarlberg where this lace is produced, 90% of the market of the production comes to Nigeria.” – Ms Louisa Onuoha


In This Episode
In this episode, our host speaks with a historian about how laces made in Austria landed thousands of miles away in the wardrobes of Nigerians. Join us, as we navigate evolving tastes, enduring culture, trade policies, industry crises, and all the things that happened along the way as Nigerians remade these laces in their own image.

Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher.

Download a transcript.

Louisa Onuoha is on the staff of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria, where she has served in several capacities as a museum education officer/curator in more than three museums in the country. She has initiated several art and educational programs for the museum and participated in several exhibitions locally and internationally. Among these exhibitions is the African Lace Exhibition, a joint effort between the Museum of Ethnology, Vienna, and the NCMM, Nigeria. She is a member of several art and heritage organizations such as ACASA, CAA, SNA, CAM and the International Council of Museums (where she currently serves as the President of ICOM Nigeria). She is widely traveled and well published in the area of arts, tourism, and heritage and is currently a Doctoral candidate at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

mary adeogun
(BGC MA ’22) studies textiles, garments, and dress culture. For the past four years she has focused on Yorùbá dress culture and textile practices from her family heritage, relying on conversations with stylish aunties about their lace and aṣọ òkè, interviews with àdìrẹ collectors and scholars, brief apprenticeships or workshops with practicing textile artists, and beyond. Other interests include fiber and dyeing science, how clothes are displayed, American dress culture and everyday dress habits. She is grateful to the many loved ones and teachers in her life that make this learning possible.

Featuring original music by Ahamefule Oluo.