Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

First Look: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection

See a display of 23 works made of wood, ivory, and beadwork from the Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection.

May 17, 2006 – December 3, 2006

African Gold from the Glassell Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

See approximately 135 works of art that represent the rich diversity of Akan gold work and royal regalia from Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa.

May 26, 2006 – November 26, 2006

African Art Museum

BIG/small

See an exhibition of 106 contemporary and tradition-based works from private collections and the museum's collection that illustrates how artists use size and scale, both literally and metaphorically, to communicate a range of ideas.

January 17, 2006 – July 23, 2006

African Art Museum

Constance Larrabee

Constance Larrabee's 20 black-and-white photographs of South Africa documented the lives of African peoples in both rural and urban settings.

Mid-March 2005 – March 23, 2006

African Art Museum

African Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection

This exhibition features 100 objects by 28 contemporary African artists representing 15 African countries from the Contemporary African Art Collection of Swiss entrepreneur and photographer Jean Pigozzi.

November 16, 2005 – February 26, 2006

African Art Museum

Where Gods and Mortals Meet: Continuity and Renewal in Urhobo Art

See the first exhibition devoted to the arts and culture of the Urhobo people, who live in the Niger River Delta in southern Nigeria.

June 23, 2005 – September 25, 2005

African Art Museum

TEXTures: Word & Symbol in Contemporary African Art

View an exhibition that highlights the creative ways in which 6 contemporary artists combine the acts of writing with a range of media.

February 11, 2005 – September 4, 2005

African Art Museum

Treasures

View a changing exhibition that commemorates the museum's 25th anniversary by interweaving masterpieces from the museum's collection with artworks from public and private collections.

November 17, 2004 – August 15, 2005

African Art Museum

Playful Performers

View an exhibition that looks at children's masquerades in Africa using objects, photographs, and video presentations.

April 9, 2004 – December 12, 2004

African Art Museum

Insights

See artworks by 9 contemporary artists whose experimentation with subject matter and material offers a thoughtful look at the artistic process.

February 27, 2004 – December 5, 2004

African Art Museum

Images of Power and Identity

View over 100 works of African art (wood, ivory, metal) selected from the museum's permanent collection.

September 28, 1987 – May 31, 2004

African Art Museum

The Ancient West African City of Benin, A.D. 1300-1897

See a reinstallation of 24 objects that features the royal court of Benin (located in present-day Nigeria) as it existed before British colonial rule.

July 26, 1995 – May 31, 2004

African Art Museum

The Ancient Nubian City of Kerma, 2500-1500 B.C.

See 40 objects that celebrate the wealth and artistic traditions of Kerma, the oldest city in Africa outside Egypt that has been excavated.

July 26, 1995 – May 31, 2004

African Art Museum

Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora

See a first-of-its kind exhibition examines the diversity and significance of contemporary visual arts of the Ethiopian diaspora.

May 2, 2003 – December 7, 2003

African Art Museum

Journeys and Destinations: Contemporary African Artists on the Move

View an exhibition featuring the work of six contemporary African artists that explores the important histories of migration and the negotiations of artistic, cultural, personal, and group identities.

January 30, 2003 – November 30, 2003

African Art Museum

Ethiopian Icons: Faith and Science

This exhibition that focuses on the icon—an art form associated with the Ethiopian Orthodox church—and features six icons from the collection that have recently undergone technical analysis and conservation treatment.

January 30, 2003 – October 5, 2003

African Art Museum

In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960

View an exhibition that examines how images by Euro-American photographers created and perpetuated ideas and sentiments about the peoples of central Africa.

December 6, 2002 – March 16, 2003

African Art Museum

Recent Acquisitions and Promised Gifts

See an exhibition that highlights the growing strength of the contemporary arts collection at the National Museum of African Art and the richness and diversity of the arts scene on the African continent today.

October 18, 2002 – January 5, 2003

African Art Museum

Making the Grade: Arts of Initiation

View an exhibition that introduces the diverse arts associated with initiation rites in selected African communities.

November 11, 2001 – October 27, 2002

African Art Museum

A Personal Journey: Central African Art from the Collection of Lawrence Gussman

View an exhibition from the Lawrence Gussman collection including 75 objects representing 30 African cultures.

June 9, 2002 – October 6, 2002

African Art Museum

Gifts & Blessings: The Textile Arts of Madagascar

View an exhibit explaining the historical context and dynamism of Madagascar's contemporary cloth production.

April 14, 2002 – September 2, 2002

African Art Museum

Spectacular Display: The Art of Nkanu Initiation Rituals

View a set of five, polychromed wall panels recently acquired by the museum that are dedicated to art of the Nkanu peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

December 16, 2001 – March 3, 2002

African Art Museum

The Last Supper Revisited

View an installation by South African artist Sue Williamson that commemorates District Six, a community in Cape Town, South Africa, that was razed under apartheid.

January 12, 2002 – January 27, 2002

African Art Museum

Beautiful Bodies: Form and Decoration of African Pottery

See the beautiful forms, rich surface textures, and sumptuous colors that characterize these hand-built clay vessels from continental Africa, whose forms range from human to geometric.

May 6, 2001 – January 6, 2002

African Art Museum

Encounters with the Contemporary

See an exhibition of works by 32 African modernist pioneers selected from the growing permanent collection of contemporary and modern works of art.

January 7, 2001 – January 6, 2002

African Art Museum