Marla Berns, the Shirley and Ralph Shapiro Director of the Fowler Museum at UCLA, received the medal of chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic at a Nov. 12 ceremony at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris.
The ceremony, conducted by Quai Branly Museum president Stéphane Martin, took place at the opening of "Secrets d'ivoire: L'art des Lega d'Afrique centrale," an exhibition of the Fowler Museum's unparalleled collection of African artwork by the Lega peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was donated to the Fowler by collectors Jay T. and Deborah R. Last.
Membership in the Order of Arts and Letters, established in 1957, is awarded by the French minister of culture in recognition of eminent artists, writers and scholars. Recipients of the award are admitted into the order as a chevalier, or knight. Berns was honored for her contributions to knowledge of the arts and artists of Africa and her promotion of cultural exchange between France and the United States through the Fowler's ongoing partnerships with the Quai Branly Museum.
The complete news release is here.
