Artwork: Nouvelle Histoire collection, 2011, designed by Sasja Strengholt, Deux d’Amsterdam, for Vlisco. Photograph by Carmen Kemmink.
Africa is the land where it all began, a lush garden of Eden. The second-largest continent with the oldest roots, Africa is home to 54 countries, nine territories, and two de facto states home to 1.1 billion people, with the median age of 19.7 years old. The diversity of ethnicities, languages, and cultures is manifest in the arts; from sculpture to fashion and textiles, photography to architecture, African creativity is like a fountain of black gold, ever replenishing itself in traditions maintained and innovations explored.
Also: Secret Histories | The Real South Africa, as Seen by the Man They Called “Kitty”
In celebration, the Philadelphia Museum of Art presents Creative Africa, a five-part exhibition series that includes contemporary photography, fashion, architecture, traditional sculpture, and textile design. The selections showcase the history of African art alongside its contemporary forms, revealing the centricity of the human as the source of inspiration across the centuries and through the generations.
Fang Head, Date unknown. Artist/maker unknown, African, Gabon, Fang. Wood, Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950
The centerpiece of Creative Africa is Look Again: Contemporary Perspectives on African Art, which presents the works from the Kuba, the Kota, and the kingdom of Benin made between the 1500s and the 1900s. Taken from a classic period in West and Central African art history, the works include carved ivories, bronzes, plaques, commemorative heads, sculptures, reliquary figures, miniatures, cloths, boxes, and bowls. The exhibition is on view now through December 4, 2016.
Printed Textile, 2005. Made by Vlisco, Helmond, Netherlands, founded 1846. Cotton plain weave, wax resist print, 12 feet × 47 1/2 inches (365.8 × 120.7 cm). Private Collection © Vlisco
Vlisco: African Fashion on a Global Stage presents the history of the Dutch company, which has become one of the most influential textile brands in West and Central African fashion around the world, showcasing a selection of contemporary fashions by African and European makers as well as the in-house team. The exhibition is on view now through September 26, 2016.
Laongo CSPS Clinic, Designed by Francis Kéré, Burkinabe, active Berlin, Photograph © Kéré Architecture
The Architecture of Francis Kéré: Building for Community spotlights the world-renowned architect’s inventive approach that combines traditional knowledge and craft skills into innovative and sustainable buildings worldwide. Kéré, a native of Burkina Faso now based in Berlin, is known for taking a collaborative approach to architecture, responding to local cultures, knowledge, materials, and technologies to produce community-minded, contextually sensitive work. The exhibition is on view now through September 26, 2016.
Alexandra Township, from the series Shebeen Blues, 2008 (negative); 2015 (print). Ananias Léki Dago, Ivorian, born 1970. Gelatin silver print, approximate: 24 × 20 inches (61 × 50.8 cm), Courtesy of the artist, © Ananias Léki Dago.
Three Photographers/Six Cities takes us on a whirlwind tour across the continent with work of Akinbode Akinbiyi, Seydou Camara, and Ananias Léki Dago. From Cairo (Egypt) to Johannesburg (South Africa), Nairobi (Kenya) to Lagos (Nigeria), wand over to Bamako and Tombouctou (both Mail), Three Photographers/Six Cities offers distinct perspectives on contemporary African perspectives. The exhibition is on view now through September 26, 2016.
Resist Dyed Cloth, Late 1960s. Artist/maker unknown, African, Yoruba. Resist dyed cotton plain weave, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of Titi Halle, 2006
Threads of Tradition takes us back to the heart, to the time-honored techniques of Central and Western African textiles. Jackpot! On view are trip-woven kente cloths made by the Asante and Ewe, raffia skirts of the Kuba, and textiles from Cameroon. It’s all here: strip weaving, resist dyeing, piecing, appliqué, and embroidery. Fabric is the foundation upon which so many arts thrive. From here to eternity. Viva Afrique! The exhibition is on view now through January 2017.
Miss Rosen is a New York-based writer, curator, and brand strategist. There is nothing she adores so much as photography and books. A small part of her wishes she had a proper library, like in the game of Clue. Then she could blaze and write soliloquies to her in and out of print loves.
