22 April - May 2008

United Nations Headquarters, New York City

First Avenue at 46th Street, Main Gallery of the Visitors' Lobby

Hours: Mon-Fri, 9 to 5 pm, Sat & Sun, 10-5 pm.

Open to the public, free of charge.

The popular board game known as mancala is found all over Africa, although no one knows for sure where it originated. Due to centuries of trade connecting continents, the game is also found on the Indian sub-continent, in Asia, and in the Americas. For centuries, adults and children all over Africa have played mancala for fun and in serious competitions. In societies with rich sculptural traditions, mancala boards are often embellished with decorative carvings evoking kings, deities, and idealized images of the human form. Historically, the boards have played a role in the accession of kings, funerary and divination rites, and celebrations. The boards in ARTWORK/ARTPLAY: African Game Boards demonstrate some of the local variations of a game that is also an art form.

This exhibition is part of an international photographic and art exhibition by and about indigenous artists coinciding with the 7th session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues taking place at UN Headquarters in New York.