Join us for an evening walk-through of Ex-Change with curators Carlee Forbes and Erica P. Jones. This thought-provoking exhibition explores the enduring appeal and repurposing of minted coins, counters, and tokens in artworks from around the world—objects that transcend their original use as legal tender to become carriers of meaning, memory, and transformation.

Drawn from the Fowler’s permanent collection, Ex-Change is organized into four thematic sections that examine how artists utilize coins for aesthetic properties, their spiritual resonance, their symbolism of wealth and status, and their links to histories of trade and economic exchange. Together, Forbes and Jones will guide guests through these themes, reflecting on the creative and cultural lives of minted metals.

The evening will conclude with wine and light appetizers in the Fowler courtyard.

Carlee Forbes is the associate curator of African and Oceanic art at the Baltimore Museum of Art. She received her Ph.D. in art history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Previously, she was a Mellon Curatorial Fellow at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, where she contributed to the research of the museum’s Wellcome Trust collection. Forbes has also held curatorial positions at the Ackland Art Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida.

Erica P. Jones is the senior curator of African arts and manager of curatorial affairs at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Her work engages colonial legacies, royal arts, and diasporic connections. Jones has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions, including: The House Was Too Small: Yoruba Sacred Arts from Africa and Beyond (2023), Inheritance: Recent Video Art from Africa (2019), and Meleko Mokgosi: Bread, Butter, and Power (2018). She serves on the board of African Arts journal; co-chairs the Collaboration, Collections, and Restitution Best Practices Working Group; and led the 2024 repatriation of looted Asante objects to Ghana. Jones holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in art history from UCLA and a B.A. in art history and anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Wine with the Curator: Ex-Change

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