Acquisitions 



Among the most significant art works acquired by the 

 museum in the past year were several works of modern art 

 (a mixed-media assemblage, "The Notorious Green Car," by 

 the South African artist Willie Bester (b. 1956), and the three- 

 meter-high sculpture "Erosion" by El Anatsui of Ghana (b. 1944) 

 and important works of traditional African art (a striking 

 Ibibio mask from Nigeria, a highly original Dogon sculpture 

 from Mali, and a superb carved altar tusk from the Benin 

 Kingdom in Nigeria). In addition, a collection of some 5,000 

 black-and-white photographs of South Africa by Constance 

 Stuart Larrabee, a renowned and frequently exhibited photog- 

 rapher, were donated to the museum by the artist. 



Exhibitions 



The first level of the National Museum of African Art houses 

 several permanent exhibitions drawing on the museum's 

 collection: "Images of Power and Idenrity," "The Art of the 

 Personal Object," and "The Ancient West African City of 

 Benin, A.D. 1300-1897." Another popular installation, 

 "Purpose and Perfection: Pottery as a Woman's Art in Central 

 Africa," closed in July after being on view for six years. In 

 addition, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, 

 Boston, the museum offers "The Ancient Nubian City of 

 Kerma, 2500—1500 B.C.," a loan exhibition of works from the 

 permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, featuring 

 objects from Kerma, an ancient Nubian city that was located 

 on the Nile River. The exhibition was organized by the Museum 

 of Fine Arts, Boston, and its Department of Ancient Egyptian, 

 Nubian, and Near Eastern Art; all objects are from the Harvard 

 University— Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Expedition. 



Also located on the first level is the Point of View Gallery, 

 which presents small temporary exhibitions that focus on 

 specific themes or objects. This gallery was the site of four 

 exhibitions this year. "Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by 

 Magdalene Odundo" featured the work of the Kenyan 

 ceramist. The critically acclaimed "A King and His Cloth: 

 King Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I" featured an important 

 textile as well as a multimedia presentation that invited 

 visitors to explore the history and symbols of the magnificent 

 adinkra cloth. The museum also cosponsored with The 

 Smithsonian Associates an original play that brought both 

 King Prempeh and the cloth to life. In additon, the museum 

 offered "Adire: Resist-Dyed Cloths of the Yoruba," featuring a 

 collection of newly acquired adire cloths from Nigeria. The 

 year came to a close with the opening of the exhibition, "Gifts 

 to the National Collection of African Art." 



The museum's second-level gallery was the site of two im- 

 portant exhibitions of traditional African art: "Memory: Luba 

 Art and the Making of History," organized by the Museum for 

 African Art in New York City, and 'Treasures from Tervuren: 

 Selections from the Belgian Royal Museum for Central Africa." 

 The U.S. tour of "Treasures from Tervuren" was coordinated 

 by The Tribal Art Centre of Basel, Switzerland. 



Also, this year three contemporary works of art by Nigerian 

 artist Sokari Douglas Camp were installed in the museum's 

 pavilion. The kinetic sculptures, which "perform" twice each 

 hour during museum hours, were part of the museum's loth 

 anniversary celebration. 



Education and Outreach 



The museum's educational offerings, which spring from the 

 permanent collections and special exhibitions, provide audiences 

 with provocative and insightful views of the world of African 

 art. An array of tours, workshops, and focus programs gave 

 students of all ages their first encounters with real works of 

 African art. One highlight was an all-day symposium, "Four 

 Rivers of Africa: Historical Archaeology and Art in Africa," 

 which drew a standing room only audience. Papers from the 

 symposium will be published by the museum. 



In addition, workshops and demonstrations by practicing 

 artists engaged attentive audiences eager to meet and talk with 

 pracricing artists. For example, well-known Kenyan ceramist 

 Magdalene Odundo, whose work was featured in the exhibition 

 "Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odundo," visited 

 the museum several times. The museum also sponsored "African 

 Ceramics in Perspective," a series of six programs focusing on the 

 ceramic arts of Africa and the African disapora. 



Another highlight of the year was the museum's participa- 

 tion in the Quadrangle-wide party celebrating 10 years on the 

 National Mall. 



The museum continues to make itself accessible to people 

 with special needs. Tours for hard-of-hearing visitors were 

 made possible through a portable FM Assistive Listening Sys- 

 tem. This system also allowed hard-of-hearing visitors to par- 

 ticipate in educational programs in the workshop and lecture 

 hall. Sign language interpreters for deaf visirors were available 

 upon request for all museum programs. 



Publications 



Throughout the year, the museum published informational 

 materials to accompany exhibitions. This included brochures 

 relating to "Ceramic Gestures: New Vessels by Magdalene Odun- 

 do," "Memory: Luba An and the Making of History," "A King 

 and His Cloth: Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I," "Adire: Resist- 

 Dyed Cloths of the Yoruba," and "Gifts to the National Collec- 

 tion of African Art;" and a family guide published in conjunction 

 with "Memory: Luba Art and the Making of History." 



In addition, the museum published a catalog in conjunc- 

 tion with the exhibition "The Ancient Nubian City of Kerma, 

 2500—1500 B.C." The fully illustrated book was written by 

 Timothy Kendall, associate curator at the Museum of Fine 

 Arts, Boston, which loaned the objects in the exhibition to 

 the National Museum of African Art. 



Photographic Archives and Library 



The museum continues to be a leading research and reference 

 center for the visual arcs of Africa. The Warren M. Robbins 



54 



