Philadelphia museum of art debuts major new African art exhibition

This spring and summer, artwork from all across Africa fills the Perelman Building at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for Creative Africa, a major new exhibition of African artwork. The huge exhibition, which opens May 14, spans two floors of the building and is made up of five different shows: Look Again: Contemporary Perspectives on […]

This spring and summer, artwork from all across Africa fills the Perelman Building at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for Creative Africa, a major new exhibition of African artwork.
The huge exhibition, which opens May 14, spans two floors of the building and is made up of five different shows: Look Again: Contemporary Perspectives on African Art, Three Photographers/Six Cities, Vlisco: African Fashion on a Global Stage, The Architecture of Francis Kéré: Building for Community and Threads of Tradition.
While the exhibitions are all vastly different, they all celebrate African art, textiles and architecture and teach museum visitors about the creative force of African artists.
The five exhibitions open on various dates throughout the spring, but all five exhibitions will be on view from tomorrow, May 14 through September 25, which are the official dates of the Creative Africa presentation. Note that some parts of the exhibition open before May 14 while some remain on view beyond September 25.
The centerpiece of the distinguished exhibition is Look Again: Contemporary Perspectives on African Art, which borrows from the Penn Museum’s African bronze and ivory collection to create a major show of African sculptures and figures.
This section of the exhibition encourages museum guests to think about the artistry and the process behind the creation of the works in this gallery.
Throughout the room, guests will find everything from intricately carved ivories to a wall of copper, brass and wood Reliquary Guardian Figures that hail from the 19th and 20th centuries. Notably, a touch-screen table provides a contrast to the ancient pieces of art; the digital table allows guests to match figures and identify connections between the pieces.
As part of Creative Africa, visitors can take in the first American retrospective of works by renowned African-born, Berlin-based architect Francis Kéré.
Kéré is known for his innovative fusion of local craftsmanship and construction traditions with Western engineering and design when creating sustainable buildings everywhere from West Africa to Europe.
The section of the exhibition that features his work is perhaps the most interactive with a site-specific installation made up of long, rainbow-colored cords (yes, it is definitely Instagram-worthy) that guests can walk through and play with. The cords create different sections, or openings, to reinforce the notion that infrastructure is needed all over the world. In the openings, sounds from both Burkina Faso and Philadelphia – music, bells, chatter and more – can be heard, too.
Additional installations including a film featuring a selection of Kéré’s work and life in his constructions round out the exhibit.
In this compelling photography show, three African photographers, all little-known in the U.S., present their work in the United States.
The exhibition focuses on rapidly growing African cities – Bamako, Cairo, Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi and Tombouctou – and the people who call the cities home. The photos are grouped by city and a background of African pop music, suggested by the photographers, accompanies the show.
Fashion and fabric are the focus in Vlisco: African Fashion on a Global Stage, a section celebrating both modern and classic looks by Vlisco, a Dutch company that is one of the largest and oldest textile companies specializing in classic African patterns and textiles.
A striking collection of about twenty pieces of Vlisco fashions adorn mannequins in the center of the exhibition. The mannequins are clothed in beautiful dresses, skirts, occasion wear and more.
The exhibition teaches guests about Vlisco’s history and how it became the textile behemoth that it is today while also celebrating the classic African patterns and the meaning being the designs.
Upstairs, Threads of Tradition focuses on iconic African textile and fabrics from Philadelphia Museum of Art and Penn Museum collections.
The showcases are full of ceremonial belts, brightly colored trousers, men’s robes and fabric samples that teach guests about the creation of traditional African fabrics – via strip weaving, embroidery, dyeing and more.
This section invites guests to get hands on and create their own pattern using fabric-covered blocks located in the center of the room.
To accompany the immense display, the Philadelphia Museum of Art hosts special events throughout the duration of Creative Africa.
The special events kick off Friday, May 13 with a Creative Africa Dance Party as part of the museum’s Art After 5 series. More than a regular Art After 5 event, the kick-off party delivers an extended-hours dance party with live music from a number of African musicians. At the dance party, groove to African pop music by Fatu Gayflor and listen to music from the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars who frequently sell out shows across the globe. Plus, admission after 8 p.m. is just $10.
On Saturday, May 21, the museum kicks off a series of discussion inspired by the Creative Africa exhibition.
Starting on July 1, the museum refocuses its family-friendly Art Splash summer programming to keep kid’ entertained all summer long through crafts, interactive fun in the galleries and more.
In September, Nora Chipaumire, a Zimbabwe-born dancer, arrives at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a weeklong residency in conjunction with the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.
Source: Uwishunu.com