The Savannah African Art Museum has announced a series of summer workshops continuing this year's theme of "Honoring and Celebrating." The three-part series is centered around honoring and celebrating ancestors, family traditions, trailblazers, earth and harvest time. Each workshop will be interactive with hands-on activities for all participants. 

The Savannah African Art Museum will kick off the new series of workshops with a Mother's Day-inspired event on May 13, sharing the history of Benin's first Iyoba, Queen Mother Idia. Workshop participants will make and decorate frames provided by the museum for a 4” by 6” image that attendees will bring of their mother or mother figure.

Continuing the theme of celebration, The Savannah African Art Museum will hold a Father's Day-inspired event on June 10, sharing the history of King Ibrahim Njoya, ruler and perceived father figure of Bamum in Western Cameroon from 1895 to 1933. Workshop participants will make and decorate frames provided by the museum for a 4” by 6” image that attendees will bring of their father or father figure.

On July 8, the museum will explore African weaving and textile traditions with a video viewing of young men in Ghana weaving beautifully-designed Kente cloth on a loom. Participants will then have the opportunity to create their own woven art using an eco-friendly handmade loom and yarn, which will be provided by the museum.

This year marks the 109th Anniversary of Savannah's Carnegie Library, the only Savannah library open to African Americans until 1963 when Savannah desegregated its libraries. To honor the founders of the Carnegie Library, the museum will hold a workshop on August 12. The workshop will recognize and honor all the founders of the Carnegie Library whose story and contributions are not widely known. Participants will make their own Ikenga inspired art collages, consisting of images, newspaper and magazine clippings and fabrics. This workshop will be held at The Carnegie Library, 537 East Henry Street, Savannah, GA 31401.

"We are thrilled about offering these workshops that help us highlight African history and also the many ways we celebrate life and all it encompasses," said Education, Community Outreach Liaison, Lisa Jackson. “The museum has many new collaborations, events, and exhibitions upcoming. We look forward to sharing them with our community and visitors."

All workshops are free and will be held at 11 a.m.  on the second floor of the museum's Upbeat Village Terracotta Gallery unless otherwise stated. Please note that it is stair access only, with no elevator or wheelchair access available for the 2nd floor. 

To register for these workshops or to learn more about the museum, upcoming workshops, and the museum's newest collections, visit savannahafricanartmuseum.org.

This article appears in 2023 Best of Savannah Issue.