Africa Galleries Trace Objects' Rich Histories
PHILADELPHIA – The next milestone in the Building Transformation project reveals the Penn Museum’s completely reimagined suite of Africa Galleries on November 16, 2019.
One of multiple spaces being unveiled this fall, the 4,000-square-foot Africa Galleries trace the paths of several key objects—from their African makers to the museum—to outline artifacts’ origins and how they arrived in Philadelphia.
This innovative approach not only highlights the incredible histories and diversity of African material culture but also advances a vital, ongoing conversation about museum collections acquired in colonial contexts. For example, among the many object stories featured in the Africa Galleries are stunning bronze pieces originally from the Benin Palace, in modern-day Nigeria. These were taken from the Palace by soldiers during the British invasion of 1897 and eventually sold on the art market, some of them coming to the Museum. The display is transparent about the legacy of colonialism that the Museum, along with many other museums, faces. The Africa Galleries prompt conversation and encourage visitors to consider their own viewpoints and experiences.
“The Penn Museum is confronting colonialism in an intellectual environment, a place where critique is essential, while considering the ways this kind of cultural material is presented in the 21st century. By confronting colonial approaches to collecting practices, we are challenging the ideas behind Western displays in museums in general,” says Tukufu Zuberi, the Lead Curator of the Africa Galleries and sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania. “With the Africa Galleries, we’re going beyond the traditional colonial messaging associated with exhibiting these objects outside of Africa.”
Using nearly 300 fascinating objects accompanied by interactive media, the galleries illustrate the breadth and depth of one of the largest collections of African artifacts in the United States. These include a 19th-century Lukumbi slit drum from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which may have been used to communicate long-distance messages; a jibbah, a cotton jacket that will be displayed with the other components of a Mahdist soldier’s uniform from Sudan; a striking Nkisi figure (from what is now Angola); an intricately hand-carved ivory sculpture from the Kongo Kingdom; Asante gold beads; and a dramatic 20th-century Sowei mask worn exclusively by women in a secret society of Sierra Leone and western Liberia. Together, the artifacts tell unforgettable stories of Africa. Also on display are contemporary art works commissioned as direct responses to the objects, providing thought-provoking perspectives.
The new galleries illuminate Africa’s global influence, its impact, and its role in the world today; encouraging visitors to embark upon an eye-opening journey through the extraordinarily diverse continent and its diaspora.
“We hope that people will be inspired by the diverse cultures of Africa and its diaspora, furthering an understanding of and appreciation for our shared humanity,” Zuberi says.
Divided into distinct themes, the Africa Galleries examine Design; Exchange, Wealth, and Currency; Spirituality; and Instruments of Battle, Prestige, and Music.
Also Opening November 16
Other reimagined areas opening as a part of the Penn Museum’s Building Transformation include the Main Entrance and the adjacent Sphinx Gallery, a space created by the Museum’s construction project with the 25,000-pound Sphinx of the Pharaoh Ramses II at its heart; the Mexico and Central America Gallery; and the historic restoration of Harrison Auditorium, a 614-seat performance venue first opened in 1915.
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About the Penn Museum
The Penn Museum’s mission is to be a center for inquiry and the ongoing exploration of humanity for our University of Pennsylvania, regional, national, and global communities, following ethical standards and practices.
Through conducting research, stewarding collections, creating learning opportunities, sharing stories, and creating experiences that expand access to archaeology and anthropology, the Museum builds empathy and connections across diverse cultures
The Penn Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10:00 am-5:00 pm. It is open until 8:00 pm on first Wednesdays of the month. The Café is open Tuesday-Thursday, 9:00 am-3:00 pm and Friday and Saturday, 10:00 am-3:00 pm. On Sundays, the Café is open 10:30 am-2:30 pm. For information, visit www.penn.museum, call 215.898.4000, or follow @PennMuseum on social media.
MEET THE LEAD CURATOR
Tukufu Zuberi, Ph.D., is the Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations, and Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at Penn. The Lead Curator for the Africa Galleries, Dr. Zuberi is a renowned documentarian on Africa and the African diaspora, and curator of two exhibitions that challenge us to enhance our understanding of the African and African American experience (the two exhibitions are Tides of Freedom: The African Presence on the Delaware River at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia and Black Bodies in Propaganda: The Art of the War Poster, which premiered at the Penn Museum in 2013 and is now touring in the U.S. Dr. Zuberi’s research focuses on Race, Demography, and Culture among African and African Diaspora populations. Dr. Zuberi is the founding Director of the Center for Africana Studies, and has served as the Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Advisors and Collaborative Artists
Curatorial Advisors working with Tukufu Zuberi and the gallery team include:
- Salah Hassan, Ph.D., Goldwin Smith Professor of African and African Diaspora Art History and Visual Culture in Africana Studies and Research Center, and Department of History of Art and Visual Studies, and Director of the Institute for Comparative Modernities, Cornell University
- Bárbaro Martínez-Ruiz, Ph.D., Tanner-Opperman Chair of African Art History in Honor of Roy Sieber at Indiana University
- Vanicléia Silva Santos, Ph.D., previously Associate Professor of History of Precolonial Africa, Department of History, and Coordinator of the Center for African Studies, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Monique Scott, Ph.D., Director of Museum Studies, Bryn Mawr College
- Gwendolyn Dubois Shaw, Ph.D., Director of History, Research and Scholarship / Senior Historian, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
Contemporary artists with commissioned works in the Africa Galleries are:
- Muhsana Ali, a visual artist born in Philadelphia, Pa., who has lived and worked in Senegal for over 17 years
- Jorge dos Anjos, a Brazilian sculptor whose works are influenced by African imagery
- Breanna Moore, a Philadelphia-based fashion designer and founder of the LaBré fashion line, which employs tailors in Ghana to hand-make all of its products—in an effort to increase economic growth through job creation. She is also currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania
- Amadou Kane Sy, a multifaceted Senegalese artist who works in painting, installation, printmaking, photography, video, and poetry
Support
The Africa Galleries are made possible by lead support from the BFC Foundation, Osagie and Losenge Imasogie, the William M. King Charitable Foundation, Robin Potter and Peter Gould, and a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.