Ann Dunham's Collection of Indonesian Batik showcased at the Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.

Posted by Susanna at 6:08 PM, Aug 10, 2009 (Comments)

Category: Design & Art

Kain panjang (long cloth used as a lower body wrapper), Java, Yogyakarta -- Indonesian batik from President Obama's mother's, Dr. Ann Dunham's, collection, which is being showcased at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. until August 23.

A FESTIVE CELEBRATION with press conference, fashion show, a pre-dinner reception and gala dinner, on Saturday night, Aug. 7, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C., marked the introduction of an exhibition of the Indonesian batik collection of President Barack Obama's mother Ann Dunham at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. The exhibit, titled "A Lady Found a Culture in Its Cloth: Barack Obama's Mother and Indonesian Batiks," will last until August 23.

Sarong (lower body wrapper), Java, north coast -- Indonesian batik from Ann Dunham's collection

THE EVENING'S guest of honor was the president's 38-year-old sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, who moved to Washington from Hawaii with her professor husband Konrad Ng, who currently is a scholar-in-residence at the Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Program. The couple has two young daughters.

THE INDONESIAN AMBASSADOR Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat during the press conference answered questions about the tradition of Indonesian batik, but he also had to respond to a question about Ms. Soetoro-Ng's absence from the press conference.

HOWEVER, REPORTERS AND photographers got their chance to talk to Ms. Soetoro-Ng when she chatted and responded to reporter's questions at the pre-gala reception. During the reception selected pieces of Dunham's collection were on display along with batiks owned by Ani Yudhoyen, the First Lady of Indonesia. There were also other Indonesian textiles provided by Cita Tenun Indonesia (Indonesian Handwoven Textile Association).

THE DINNER PROGRAM featured a fashion show by two top young Indonesian designers, Priyo Octaviano and Sebastian Gunawan, who use handwoven fabrics influenced by traditional Indonesian textiles.

Kain panjang (long cloth used as a lower body wrapper), Java, Solo - batik from Ann Dunham's collection

EARLY IN HER LIFE Ann Dunham was interested in weaving, and created wall hangings. After marrying Lolo Soetoro and moving to Indonesia in the 1960s with her son Barack Obama, she was naturally drawn to the exotic textiles of her new home country. She began to collect Javanese batik, a fabric patterned using a wax-resist process. Most of her collection was not rare or expensive pieces, but rather contemporary, mostly from the '60s and '70s, expressing a living tradition, with a variation of both classic and contemporary patterns. She also showed a fascination and interest in the batik makers' lives.

Indonesian ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat speaks at the press conference on Saturday.

IN THE 70'S AND 80'S Ann Dunham earned degrees in anthropology from the University of Hawaii, and she also focused on how to help and support crafts people, like the batik makers in Indonesia. She worked with the Ford Foundation in Jakarta and later with USAID and the World Bank, supporting projects beneficial to poor women with micro and small enterprises, and set up microcredit projects all over Indonesia as well as in Kenya and Pakistan. The collection was passed on to Ann Dunham's daughter Maya Soetoro-Ng.

A fashion show with clothing by Indonesian designers was also included in the program.

THE TEXTILE MUSEUM is located at 2320 S Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. The museum is open Thursdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $5 for non-members. For more information, call (202) 667-0441 or visit www.textilemuseum.org.

Kain panjang (long cloth used as a lower body wrapper), Java, Solo -- Indonesian batik from Ann Dunham's collection

Permalink | Comments (0)