Claiming Inspiration: Artisans, Culture, and Commercialization

Traveling Exhibition from the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre (TAEC), Luang Prabang, Laos

Gallery of Conscience

Traveling from the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC), an ethnographic museum and cultural centre in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, Laos, the exhibition, “Claiming Inspiration: Artisans, Culture, and Commercialization,” opens January 31, 2027, in MOIFA’s Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience. The exhibition explores the boundary between cultural appropriation and artistic appreciation in the global fashion industry and sheds light on cultural and intellectual property rights. 

"Claiming Inspiration" takes as its starting point the Oma, an ethnic minority community from the remote northern highlands of Laos with a total population of only 2,800 people, whose traditional motifs and designs were used by an Italian fashion house without consent or credit. The exhibition highlights how pervasive and complex the issues are, with displays of traditional clothing from Laos, Kenya, Mexico, and Romania that have been used as “inspiration” by designers in the past. The exhibition raises compelling questions about appropriation and influence, creative collaboration, Indigenous design, and global inspiration.  

Photo caption: Textile detail by the Oma community. Photo courtesy of the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre, @TAECLaos, and the Oma People of Phongsaly Province.