At the Mint Museum Randolph in Charlotte, “Designing Dynamism: Kuba Textiles from the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Wesley Mancini Collection” unfolds with a quiet confidence that does not demand attention all at once, but instead gently draws you in, asking only that you slow your pace and allow the experience to reveal itself over time.

From the moment you step into the gallery, there is a noticeable shift in atmosphere, as though you have crossed into a space where the rules of distance and display have been softened. Instead of the familiar starkness of white walls, you are met with handcrafted wooden structures that rise thoughtfully throughout the room, framing each textile with care and intention. These structures do more than hold the work in place. There is something deeply inviting about the way the space is arranged, as if you have entered a room within a welcoming Congolese home, where the walls carry memory and design exists not as something separate, but as something woven into everyday life.

The wood itself adds a quiet presence, one that encourages you to pause, to step closer, and to remain just a little longer than you might have expected. And it is in that pause that the textiles begin to change.

“Kuba Textile” not “African Textile”

One of the most meaningful gestures within the exhibition is also one of the most understated, as it asks visitors to move beyond general language and toward something more precise. It would be easy to leave with the impression that these works are simply “African textiles,” a broad and familiar phrase that has been used for generations, often without much thought to detail. But here, the exhibition gently resists that tendency, reminding us that these are Kuba textiles, created by the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, each piece tied to a specific place, a specific history, and a specific cultural understanding of design.

This act of naming may seem small at first, yet it carries weight, because it restores context and authorship to the work, allowing the textiles to be seen not as anonymous objects, but as expressions of a distinct and enduring tradition. As curator Annie Carlano shared, the hope is that visitors leave with that clarity, carrying with them not just an impression, but an understanding grounded in place and identity.

Patterns That Refuse to Be Still

At first, your attention may settle on the structure of the designs, such as the grids, lines, and shapes that appear carefully arranged across each piece of cloth, offering a sense of order and balance. But as you remain with them, allowing your eyes to adjust and wander, something more subtle begins to emerge. The patterns do not repeat in the way you expect them to. They do not settle into predictable cycles or follow a strict rhythm. Instead, they shift as they move across the surface, expanding in one area, tightening in another, and bending just enough to suggest motion without fully revealing it.

Gradually, you begin to sense that what you are seeing is not static at all. There is movement here…quiet, but unmistakable. It carries the feeling of a syncopated rhythm that steps slightly outside a steady beat and then returns again, creating a sense of flow that feels both unexpected and deeply natural. This rhythm seems to echo something larger and something beyond the cloth itself. It calls to mind the dance and singing that were central to the Kuba royal court, where music shaped ceremony and movement defined space. Standing before these textiles, you can almost feel that energy. The patterns seem to carry a pulse, as though they have absorbed the cadence of drums and voices, holding that memory within their lines. What emerges is a sense that these textiles are not simply designed, but they are composed, much like music, with layers of structure and improvisation working together at once.

Made Slowly, Guided by Care

The sense of life within these textiles is inseparable from the way they come into being, through a process that is both structured and deeply human. Traditionally, the creation begins with men weaving the base cloth from raffia fibers, forming a steady grid that acts as a foundation. Onto that structure, women build the design, adding layers of embroidery with careful attention, often counting stitches as they move across the surface, ensuring that each section holds together while still allowing room to shift.

It is a process that requires both discipline and sensitivity. There is precision in the work, yet there is also space for intuition. Patterns are not simply copied…they are interpreted, adjusted, and brought into form through a series of choices made over time. Because of this, no two textiles are the same. Each one carries the trace of its maker with their decisions, their timing, and their presence. When you look closely, you can almost sense the pace of the hands that created it, the quiet repetition of movement that builds into something larger and more complex. These pieces are not rushed, but built slowly with care.

More Than Something to See

To understand these textiles fully, it is important to move beyond seeing them as decoration, because their role within Kuba society has always been far more layered. These were prestige cloths and held value not only in how they looked but in what they represented. They were used in exchange, in ceremony, and in moments that marked chang that required something more than words. They helped define identity, signaling status and belonging, and they also carried spiritual meaning, connecting individuals to their ancestors and to a larger sense of continuity. In some cases, they accompanied people in burial, serving as a quiet link between the living world and what comes after.

All of this remains present, even within the gallery space. The textiles feel grounded in something deeper than display, carrying with them the sense of lives lived alongside them. During the exhibition opening discussion, a member of the Congolese community offered a reminder that felt especially important that spoke not only to the exhibition, but to the broader narrative often told about Congo. It is not only a story of hardship, but also a story of culture, of beauty, and of creative expression that continues to bring people together. That presence can be felt in the exhibition.

Held Across Time

The exhibition moves through past, present, and future, though these moments do not feel separate or disconnected, but instead they flow into one another with the same ease as the patterns within the textiles.

The past is present in the historical pieces, which carry the weight of tradition while still feeling fresh in their design.

The present appears through the work of contemporary Kuba makers, whose practice continues in Kinshasa and beyond, reminding us that this tradition has not been lost.

And the future opens quietly, suggesting that these patterns, these methods, and these ideas will continue to evolve, finding new forms while remaining rooted in their origins.

What becomes clear is that this is not a story with an ending. It is something ongoing and something still in motion.

Designing Together

At the center of the exhibition is a simple but powerful approach that values collaboration over distance. Rather than interpreting Kuba textiles from afar, designers Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper chose to work directly with artisans, traveling to Kinshasa, learning through presence and exchange. This approach reflects a broader way of thinking about design, one that sees it as something shared rather than owned. As Burks noted during the exhibition opening discussion, design is something we all participate in, shaping our surroundings in ways both small and large. In this light, Kuba textiles are not positioned as craft separate from design, but as design in its fullest sense of intentional, thoughtful, and deeply influential.

As you move through the gallery, the design of the space itself continues to shape your experience. The wooden frames create moments of pause, guiding your movement without controlling it, and the soft lighting encourages your attention to settle on each piece without distraction. This design approach transforms the act of viewing into something more personal.  Each textile feels like something to sit with, rather than something to pass by quickly. As Burks noted, when Kuba textiles are displayed all at once, their individuality can be lost. Through Burks and Leiper’s thoughtful sense of community and deep respect for the work, each piece is given the space to stand on its own, with a presence that is both distinct and quietly powerful. And within that stillness, the subtle rhythm of the textiles returns once more, reminding you that what you are seeing is not fixed or static, but gently alive carrying movement within its form.

In Search of Kuba

A key part of the exhibition’s present and future comes into focus through In Search of Kuba, the film created by Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper during their time in Kinshasa. Rather than acting as an explanation from a distance, the film feels like an extension of the exhibition’s spirit and is grounded in presence, exchange, and listening. It follows their engagement with Kuba artisans, capturing the rhythm of making, the quiet concentration of hands at work, and the shared space of learning across cultures. What emerges is not just documentation, but a sense of continuity, as the film gently affirms that Kuba textile traditions are not relics of the past, but living practices shaped by the people who continue them today. Seen alongside the textiles in the gallery, the film deepens the experience and offers a human connection to the patterns on display and reminding viewers that behind every line and stitch is a community, a voice, and an ongoing story still being made.

What Remains

When you leave Designing Dynamism, what may stay with you is not just what you have seen, but what you have felt. There is a sense of rhythm that lingers and a quiet echo of movement held within pattern and form. There is the memory of a space that felt welcoming, almost familiar, even on your first visit. And there is, perhaps most importantly, a shift in how you understand design as not something distant or defined by a single tradition, but as something wider, richer, and deeply connected to human experience.

In this exhibition, Kuba textiles do not simply hang on walls. They breathe within the space, carrying with them history, movement, and meaning. In doing so, the exhibition gently opens the lens wider offering a reminder that beyond the often narrow and one-sided narratives of violence or poverty, there exists a rich and enduring cultural legacy shaped by generations of artisans whose lineage reaches back to extraordinary royal traditions.♦

Designing Dynamism: Kuba Textiles from the DR Congo, The Wesley Mancini Collection
Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte, NC, through August 23, 2026