Since its founding in 1984, the Museum for African Art has been devoted to exploring the full range of art from Africa. In the 1990s, after an initial focus on traditional art from Africa, the Museum began to exhibit works by contemporary artists working in and outside of the continent. The Museum has been at the forefront of debates over the definition and display of African art, seeking to expand the usual museum canon and encourage audiences to reflect on the nature of museum exhibitions. New Premises will present juxtapositions of objects, arranged to suggest resonances between artworks. Surprising relationships emerge that bisect the usual divides between traditional and contemporary, art and craft, meaning and aesthetics. 

New Premises will showcase many major pieces that were loaned to previous Museum exhibitions. Also included are important works of art that have been generously donated to the Museum in recent years, including Machinehead, a 2003 photomontage by Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu, a Benin bronze head dating from the second half of the 16th century, and a rare early wooden mortuary figure from northern Nigeria.

 A 200 page, full color catalogue, with archival material on the history of the Museum for African Art, will accompany the exhibition.

For more information about this traveling exhibition, please contact rdennis@africanart.org.