Textiles from Democratic Republic of Congo on view in Charlotte
The Mint Museum presents Designing Dynamism: Kuba Textiles from the DR Congo, The Wesley Mancini Collection, on view February 21 through August 23, 2026, at Mint Museum Randolph in Charlotte. Designing Dynamism celebrates the intricate visual language and extraordinary craftsmanship of the Kuba people from the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through labor-intensive techniques, Kuba artists transform natural materials, such as palm fibers and tree bark, into complex textile designs.
Kuba design, known for its distinctive asymmetrical patterns, has inspired generations of modern and contemporary artists. The exhibition highlights outstanding examples of Kuba artistry, examining both the influence of these motifs on global design trends and the enduring creativity of contemporary artists working in the DR Congo today.
The exhibition space is designed by Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper of the acclaimed studio Stephen Burks Man Made. Recognized for elevating handmade traditions through global and industrial collaborations, Burks and Leiper bring a dynamic, contemporary approach that deepens public appreciation for Kuba design.
All works in the exhibition are recent gifts to The Mint Museum from Wesley Mancini, a Charlotte-based textile designer who has assembled one of the region’s most significant collections of Kuba textiles.
“This exhibition honors a powerful artistic tradition that continues to influence contemporary design worldwide,” says Annie Carlano, senior curator of Craft, Design, and Fashion at The Mint Museum and curator of the exhibition. “We are thrilled to share the richness of Kuba creativity with our community, and we are grateful to Wesley Mancini for gifting his collection to the Mint.”
A central focus of the exhibition is a remarkable selection of prestige cloths—square or rectangular embroidered weavings made from raffia vinifera, a palm-leaf fiber native to the DR Congo. These cloths feature imaginative geometric patterns created through flat and cut-pile embroidery, the latter producing a plush, velvety surface.
Traditionally created for the Kuba king, dignitaries, or funerary rites, prestige textiles are distinguished by their complex graphic design, asymmetry, and discontinuous patterns. During the 17th and 18th centuries, wealth from the ivory trade enabled the Kuba to commission opulent regalia and ceremonial textiles. By the mid to late 1880s, Belgian colonial encroachment threatened their sovereignty and access to resources. As a result, Kuba textiles increasingly entered European markets, where they captivated modernist artists such as Henri Matisse, Suzanne Valadon, and Sonia Delaunay.
In addition to prestige cloths, the exhibition presents intricately decorated women’s overskirts, beaded belts, and a film by Stephen Burks Man Made that reflects the continuing vitality of Kuba aesthetics—demonstrating the cultural significance, ceremonial depth, and artistic innovation of Kuba textile traditions.
A scholarly, richly illustrated catalogue published by D. Giles Ltd. accompanies the exhibition. Edited by Annie Carlano, it features a major essay by independent scholar Vanessa Drake Moraga and contributions by Malika Leiper and Stephen Burks.
ABOUT THE MINT MUSEUM
Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution dedicated to international art and design. With two locations—Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts—the Mint houses one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.
ABOUT STEPHEN BURKS MAN MADE
As partners in the award-winning studio Stephen Burks Man Made, Malika Leiper and Stephen Burks have forged a unique approach to design at the intersection of craft, community, and industry. Their nomadic workshop-based practice embraces the challenge to advocate for hand production as a strategy for innovation, which has brought them to over 20 countries on six continents.
Spanning the disciplines of art, architecture, and industrial design, they have distinguished themselves through socially engaged partnerships that contribute to a more inclusive and pluralistic vision of design.
