Events

Mark Your Calendar for Free Family Day: Every 3rd Saturday

Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage, and Spirituality

On View August 22, 2025 - January 4, 2026
With a special focus exhibit of Chinese children’s hats from the collection of Suzanne Sugg.

Thursday, August 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM

SAMFA’s Grand Hall
Free and open to the public

Generously sponsored by Suzanne Sugg and Beverly Stribling
Jointly organized by Stacey W. Miller and International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC

With a special focus exhibit of Chinese children's hats from the collection of Suzanne Sugg

The Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage, and Spirituality presents 89 hats and headdresses carefully selected from a private collection of more than 1300 extraordinary pieces of headwear from all over the world.

This exhibition features headwear from 42 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America, and is a tribute to the stunning diversity of the world’s cultures. With a few exceptions, the pieces are from the mid-to-late 20th century, and many are still worn today in parts of the world for revelry, ritual, and the rhythms of everyday life. More than utilitarian objects of material culture, each hat is a unique work of art—not merely because of the skill required to make it, but also as a singular expression of creativity and cultural meaning.