How about a journey that transcends continents and cultures? Right here at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. This museum is not just a repository of artifacts. It is a portal to understanding global arts and cultures.
Established in 1963, the Fowler Museum began as the Museum and Laboratories of Ethnic Arts and Technology. UCLA Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy founded it. Its first home was in the basement of Haines Hall. The goal was to unite UCLA’s diverse collections of non-Western art.
In 1971, it was renamed the Museum of Cultural History. By 1975, its collections ranked among the top four university museums in the United States. This status remains to this day.
A new building was planned in 1981 under Chancellor Charles E. Young and museum director Christopher B. Donnan. The Fowler Museum of Cultural History opened on September 30, 1992. It was named to honor the Fowler Foundation and the family of Francis E. Fowler Jr. He was a collector and inventor. He was also the former owner of Southern Comfort.
In 2006, the museum’s name changed to the Fowler Museum at UCLA. The Fowler emphasizes global arts and cultures. It strives to make them visible to everyone. This includes indigenous people.
The Fowler’s collections include over 120,000 art and ethnographic objects. There are also 600,000 archaeological items. These represent cultures from Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas. These span ancient, traditional, and contemporary periods.
Most of the Fowler’s holdings come from individual donations. The Sir Henry Wellcome Collection is a core part of its African and Pacific holdings. It includes 30,000 objects assembled by Sir Henry Wellcome. He was an early 20th-century pharmaceutical entrepreneur. He gifted it to the museum in 1965.
The Fowler Family Silver Collection includes 400 works. These represent 16th through 19th-century Europe and the United States. Natalie Wood donated a collection of ancient Chupícuaro Mexican ceramics in 1969.
In 2013, the Fowler Museum received gifts for its fiftieth anniversary. One gift, from Jay Last and his wife Deborah, was valued at $14 million. It included 92 wood and ivory objects from the Lega people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Daniel Family donated over 900 Mexican works in 1997. These include ceramic Trees of Life, Day of the Dead figurines, and masks.
The Fowler Museum offers a range of exhibitions. “Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives” showcases the museum’s finest objects. “Reflecting Culture: The Francis E. Fowler, Jr. Collection of Silver” displays exquisite silver works.
The Fowler also hosts lectures, musical performances, art workshops, and family programs. In 2024, the museum repatriated looted artifacts to Ghana. These artifacts were stolen by British forces from the Ashanti Empire in the 19th century.
Marla C. Berns became the director in 2001. In 2007, her position was endowed by a $1 million donation. The Quai Branly Museum awarded Berns the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic in 2013.
The Fowler Museum is more than just a museum. It is a dynamic space that fosters understanding and appreciation of world cultures. The Fowler Museum actively reflects on history. It re-narrates colonial collections and calls for respect.
So, next time you’re on the UCLA campus, step inside the Fowler Museum. It is a place where the world comes together.