The event, dubbed Bark Cloth to the Roots, which took place at the Museum on February 26, put a spotlight on Uganda’s bark cloth as the oldest known African textile.
In 2005, Unesco declared the Ugandan bark cloth a “masterpiece of oral and intangible cultural heritage”, and in 2008 it was added to the World Heritage List.
At the launch of the exhibition, proprietor of the museum Ahneva Hilson, paid tribute to Africa as the birthplace of fashion.
“The African Textile Museum was established in 2020 to curate and preserve African textile history. Its purpose is to share the work of present-day African artisans, scholars and creative designers not only in moving the fashion industry forward but also in playing a key role in conservation and sustainability programmes,” he said.
Hilson said Uganda was the first African country to commission and donate special heritage items specifically for the museum.
