Spurlock Sunday: Hand Fans as Cool(ing) Art

• Event Date: Sunday, May 4, 2025
• Time: 2:00 pm–4:00 pm (CDT)
• Location: Collaboration and Community Gallery, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Age: All ages
• Cost: Free

• Hands-on
• Family-Friendly tag

The hand fan dates back over 4000 years, with the earliest versions found within tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs. Hand fans also get a mention in several ancient Greek and Roman texts as well as in the Bible. Primitive fans were designed to be both functional and ceremonial.

The primary function was to cool the body’s surface. Ancient peoples very likely instinctually knew to wave their hands through the air to produce a cooling effect. Eventually this low-tech technique evolved into the construction of primitive hand fans whose designs are still used today. The folding fan originated in ancient Japan and was considered ‘more functional,’ as its predecessor was cumbersome to carry around and would have mainly been used by the servants of the higher classes to shield the sun from their master’s faces – itself behavior illustrating a ceremonial function: to assert class superiority through frivolous laborers.

Because their design and construction evolved from often flat, natural materials, fans have long provided a surface on which to draw, paint, stitch, and gild. From here evolved more aesthetic and ceremonial functions. In addition to being objects for cooling, fans have been used for storytelling; political and social messaging; advertising; and polarizing sports fandom. Please come join us as we construct, design, and decorate hand fans.

About the Series

Spurlock Sundays are free, drop-in programs held on one Sunday of the month from 1:00–3:30 pm. Programs are open to visitors of all ages and developed with youth and family in mind. Spurlock Sunday activities can take a multitude of forms, from crafts, games, performances, topical open-mic sharing, community conversations, and hands-on experiences with cultural artifacts.