Well, hello there and welcome to Ms. Cosmopolite!

Come on in and enjoy a cup of tea with me. I am having a pot of Mai 68 – “a tea with a scent of revolution”, a special edition blend by the Paris-based specialty merchant Fauchon, an ideal choice for our first conversation. You can find it here.

Allow me to introduce myself to you as a lady does – slowly and with a bit of play. If you are already familiar with the Los Angeles-based Craft and Folk Art Museum (the homeland for Ms. Cosmopolite), you probably know that the museum was founded in 1965 by a group of determined women on a mission to celebrate global cultures in an authentic way. Today CAFAM is run by a group of diverse, globally minded women that have brought the museum’s mission of promoting cultural awareness into the 21st century with gusto. The Ms. in the blog title plays tribute to the XX chromosome, which is plentiful in CAFAM’s DNA. (This is not to say that we don’t appreciate the XYs in our mist but that is an entirely different topic ;-))

A Cosmopolite is defined as someone who is at home in every place; a citizen of the world; or a cosmopolitan person. Naturally, one does not feel at home unless one senses comfort and contentment. Cosmopolites are a particular group of folk that have embraced a philosophy of universal values and peace. For example, someone can travel the world over and not be a cosmopolite if he isn’t able to experience comfort when embracing something unfamiliar. This idea is nicely reflected in the passage below from O. Henry’s short story, A Cosmopolite in a Café:

“…for I held a theory that since Adam no true citizen of the world has existed. We hear of them, and we see foreign labels on much luggage, but we find travelers instead of cosmopolites.”

So, now you have a sense of Ms. Cosmopolite’s nature. Here you can expect lively and engaging discussions on all things global, from art, culture, and beauty, to the very real politics and policies that are well, rather un-cosmopolite. A slice of life behind the scenes of the museum can also be expected...

I invite global and local citizens to enjoy a cup of culture and comfort with me on a weekly basis.

Ciao for now,

Ms. Cosmopolite

This entry posted by CAFAM Web Master @ 11:10 AM