Tertulia Nights: Martin Tsang

Afro-Atlantic religious traditions and sacred beadwork are the focus of an after-hours museum conversation with scholar and artist Martin Tsang. Tertulia Nights with Martin Tsang takes place Thursday, May 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU. The event is part of Tertulia Nights, the museum’s recurring after-hours experience taking place every second Thursday of the month. 

Tsang’s talk, Orishas and Strands of Faith: Materiality, Devotion, and Sacred Lucumí Beadwork, explores the role of beads in Cuban Lucumí religious practice. Drawing on his work as a priest, anthropologist and bead artist, Tsang will examine how color, pattern and process carry ritual meaning, preserve memory and support the transmission of knowledge centered on the orishas.

The conversation also considers how Lucumí beadwork has evolved through diasporic exchange, with connections to the work of Wifredo Lam and the writings of Lydia Cabrera. Support for the event is provided by the Art Bridges Access for All program and FIU CasaCuba.

Image of altar for the deity or orisha, Oshun. Photo: M Tsang