Kwasi Asare

Staff

Paul Manaster

One of Africa’s most prominent and accomplished weavers; he is particularly known for Kente cloth, the highly prized Ghanaian cloth that has traditionally symbolized royalty, honor and leadership.

His understanding of Kente cloth and the weaving traditions of Africa is unparalleled, but more importantly, Kwasi truly loves his art and profession.  With his smile and easy-going manner, he joyfully reaches out to adults, youth and children alike with a desire to share a vision of creativity, love and self-expression. Through his workshops and presentations, Kwasi is excited to see students of all ages develop a stronger mind-body connection by being absorbed in careful, detailed work with their hands. Working with his own special easy-to-use hand looms, Kwasi’s students can create their own wonderful pieces of the honored and venerable Kente cloth. This kind of artistic work is a much-needed counterbalance to a world where many of us spend countless hours every day hours typing on a keyboard or viewing device screens.  In this way, working with Kwasi’s s looms becomes like a meditation process.  This activity helps students get in touch with the patience, creativity, vision and attention to detail necessary for creating something beautiful and valuable with one’s hands.  The workshop is universal – it is educational, informative and attractive to virtually anyone from any age or background.