Freedom to Adorn

Freedom to Adorn takes over the Minneapolis Institute of Art on Saturday, November 21, from 10 AM to 4:30 PM. It's a full day of film and conversation held in the Pillsbury Auditorium, curated by Womxn in Windows and presented alongside the museum's Paris Couture exhibition.

The day is built around fashion as a language of identity, authorship, and self-determination. It opens with a selection of short films curated by Womxn in Windows, followed by a conversation with Akua Shabaka and Aditi Meyer, moderated by Nova Aftab. The feature film Mahogany anchors the middle of the day, and another conversation follows with Kilo Kish and Jasmine Benjamin. Sanam Sindhi closes things out with a presentation.

Between the screenings and the talks, the program looks at who gets to participate in fashion's mythology, how clothing shapes how we're seen, and how adornment can become a form of cultural and personal freedom. It brings together artists, filmmakers, designers, archivists, performers, and cultural thinkers to reexamine couture beyond luxury, framing fashion as autobiography, memory, creative expression, and a way of shaping how we see ourselves and each other.

Because it's tied to Paris Couture, you can walk from the auditorium to the exhibition and back throughout the day. The whole thing runs from 10 AM to 4:30 PM at the Pillsbury Auditorium, 2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404. Admission is free, but registration is required.