What you learn in school, in a museum, through books, or through the media can impact you for a life

What you learn in school, in a museum, through books, or through the media can impact you for a lifetime. African Arts—Global Conversations was inspired by my own college “Art History 101” class, a survey of art history where African arts appeared as a footnote to the work of European Modernists. My early 2000s textbook looked much like one of those displayed in this exhibition’s first-floor gallery, with a picture of a Picasso painting and a generic reference to “African art.” The experience of that class—and my frustration with whose stories were left out, and whose were made part of the canon—inspired me to create this exhibition over 15 years later. This exhibition puts African arts where they rightfully belong: within the global art historical canon. Presenting African arts alongside non-African arts provides opportunities for greater, meaningful art historical conversations and permits critiques of previous ways that encyclopedic museums and the field of art history have or have not included them. A fresh way to view the Brooklyn Museum’s world-renowned collections, this exhibition puts African and non-African arts from diverse places and time periods in dialogue in this first-floor introductory gallery and in activation spaces throughout the museum in galleries dedicated to European Art, American Art, Egyptian Art, Arts of Asia, and Arts of the Americas. Duos, trios, and other groupings of objects are aimed at prompting conversations about history, art, race, power, design, and more. The exhibition opens up spaces for broader, truer discussions that more accurately reflect the complexity of art’s histories. It’s a hopeful step forward along a path towards a more inclusive, and historically truthful art history. In the same expansive spirit as the exhibition, its accompanying social media campaign will bring in multiple voices to highlight different aspects of the exhibition, and to broaden the conversation about art history and museums.Throughout the run of this exhibition, you can look forward to posts from staff members who contributed to this exhibition (including conservators, exhibition designers, and curatorial assistants artists whose work is featured in the show; and, of course, highlights of the object groupings featured in the exhibition.Congratulations to everyone who contributed to the success of this exhibition! We’re excited for you, our Brooklyn Museum visitors, to view these great artworks and join in the conversation.Posted by Kristen Windmuller-Luna, Former Sills Family Consulting Curator of African Arts. Current Curator of African Art, Cleveland Museum of Art -- source link

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