nearreal-time, data relayed to Earth by satellites. Curator for 

 this exhibition was Thomas Watters of the Centet for Earth 

 and Planetary Studies. 



In September the Museum unveiled "jArriba! The History 

 of Flight in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the 

 Caribbean," a temporary exhibition that examined aviation in 

 Latin America during the first century of flight. 



The Exhibits Division was involved in a number of other 

 projects during 1998. The Apollo 11 command module in the 

 Milestones of Flight gallery was recovered with Plexiglas, and 

 the visitor information desk in the south lobby was renovated. 

 Design was also completed for the redo of the Douglas World 

 Cruiser exhibit in the Pioneers of Flight gallery. Exhibit team 

 members developed a concept for the tedevelopment of the 

 Air Transportation hall, and a design firm was contracted to 

 handle the exhibition design. A planning document was 

 completed for "Explore the Universe," a major new permanent 

 exhibition tentatively scheduled to open mid-2001. The ex- 

 hibition will examine how our view of the universe and our 

 tools for studying it have changed ovet time. The core of the 

 exhibition relates how space-age technology has transformed 

 our understanding of the universe and what scientists today 

 believe the universe is like. 



Planning and development of a new IMAX film, Up, Up, 

 and Away, continued throughout the year. The film will ex- 

 plore all forms of vertical flight, from balloons and airships to 

 vertijets, with its primary focus being the helicopter and its 

 important role in modern civil and military aviation 

 throughout the world. 



Continuing work by exhibits staff on the Museum's future 

 Dulles Center included the design of display cases and exhibit 

 units and the creation of a preliminary layout of the artifacts 

 for use by Museum staff and the contractor building the 

 facility. 



National Museum of African Art 



Roslyn A. Walker, Director 



The National Museum of African Art celebrates the rich visual 

 traditions and extraordinarily diverse cultures of Africa and 

 fosters an appreciation of African art and civilizarions through its 

 collections, exhibitions, research and public programs. 



Acquisitions 



Among the most significant artworks acquired by the 

 museum in the past year were a selection of 14 sculptures from 

 Central and East Africa and a rare Mbete reliquary figure from 

 Gabon; two fine Urhobo and Igbo figures from Nigeria; the 

 artist's book Emandulo, Recreation, created in Johannesburg, 

 South Africa; and a sculpture, The Ancestors Converged Again, 

 by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui. In addition, the museum's 



Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives acquired rwo important 

 albums. One, dating from ca 1886, contains 53 vintage images 

 taken in the then Belgian Congo. A second album presents 170 

 vintage prints from Uganda and Kenya, dating to 1897-1903. 



Exhibitions 



The first level of the National Museum of African Art houses 

 several permanent exhibitions drawing on the museum's col- 

 lection; "Images of Powet and Identiry," "The An of the Per- 

 sonal Object," and "The Ancient West African City of Benin, 

 A.D 1300— 1897." 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, fearuring objects from Kerma, an 

 ancient Nubian city that was located on the Nile River. The 

 exhibition was organized by the Museum of Fine Arrs, Bos- 

 ton, and its Department of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and 

 Near Eastern Arr; all objects are from the Harvard University- 

 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Expedition. 



Also located on the first level is the Sylvia H. Williams Gal- 

 lery, which was the location of the exhibition "The Poetics of 

 Line: Seven Artists of the Nsukka Group," showcasing the 

 work of seven leading members of a group of artists who have 

 studied or taught in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts 

 at the Universiry of Nigeria, Nsukka. In addition, on view in 

 the gallery was the exhibition "South Africa 1936—1949: 

 Photographs by Constance Stuart Larrabee," the first public 

 presentation of an important collection of black-and-white 

 photographs of South Africa given to the museum by the 

 photographer in 1997. 



The first level is the location of the Point of View gallery, 

 which presents small temporary exhibitions that focus on 

 specific themes 01 objects. This gallery was rhe site of two - 

 exhibitions this year. "A Spiral of History: A Carved Tusk from 

 the Loango Coast, Congo" (February i-April 26) presented a 

 single carved ivory tusk revealing an artist's conceptions about 

 history and cultures in transition. "African Forms in the Furni- 

 ture of Pierre Legrain," (Augusr 16-November 29) explored 

 the influence African chain and stools had on the work of 

 Pierre Legrain (1889-1929). 



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

 hibition "Olowe of Ise: A Yoruba Sculptor to Kings," present- 

 ing more than 30 majot works by the Yoruba sculptor 



Many of the ceramic wotks featured in the previous exhibi- 

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

 Central Africa" were reinstalled in the exhibition "Ceramics at 

 the National Museum of African Art," on the third level. 



Also this year, three contemporary works of an by Nigerian 

 artist Sokari Douglas Camp were on view- in the museum's 

 pavilion. 



Education and Outreach 



The museum's educational offerings, which spring from the 



permanenr collections and special exhibitions, provide audien- 



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