African Arts Initiative

Several recent, high-profile developments have focused international attention on African art, both historic and contemporary, including its collecting, curation, and status in museums, with an intensity that has not been seen before. In the case of current dialogues about African art, this desire is further motivated by Harvard’s world-class museums--the Harvard Art Museums and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology--each of which engage with art from the African continent, though in markedly different ways.

The Center for African Studies has identified a natural synergy among our faculty and our community to deepen and broaden our engagement with African arts. We envision this African Arts Initiative around four main activities:

  • Moderated conversations and interviews with artists;
  • Online art exhibitions to be hosted by the CAS Africa Office;
  • Occasional workshops like the forthcoming “Future of African Curatorial Practice”; and
  • Residencies for artists and curators at Harvard.

 

African Artist Interviews

Interview with Nelson Makamo (recordings forthcoming)

Nelson Makamo and Sarah Clunis Interview in Cabot Library Studio

 

 

Interview with Atang Tshikare (recordings forthcoming)

Atang Tshikare Photo in studio

News

Nelson Makamo and Mandisi Dyantyis' Artist-in-Residency Conversation and Concert

April 28, 2022

On April 28, 2022, the Harvard community was treated to a unique opportunity to hear from acclaimed international artist Nelson Makamo and jazz musician and composer Mandisi Dyantyis for a conversation about how art informs art and reflections on their experiences as artists-in-residence at the Harvard Center for African Studies as the two-week residency came to an end.

...

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The Center for African Studies Launches the Artist-in-Residence Program

April 11, 2022

As part of the Harvard Center for African Studies' African Arts Initiative, Leverett House has partnered with the Center for African Studies to bring the inaugural cohort of the Artist-in-Residence Program. For the two next weeks, visual artist Nelson Makamo and musician Mandisi Dyantyis, both from South Africa, will offer interactive workshops together at Leverett House that will culminate in an exhibition of student art...

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Events - Past and Present

2019 Mar 06

Art and Religious Devotion in Morocco: Notes on a Calligraphic Panel from the Harvard Art Museums

6:00pm to 7:15pm

Location: 

Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street Cambridge MA

A large-scale calligraphic panel from Morocco features stylized views of Mecca and Medina and representation of the Prophet Muhammad’s sandals, alongside prayers praising the Prophet and a selection of verses from the Qur’an.

This striking work raises the broad question of representational imagery in an Islamic devotional context as well as the more specific matter of artistic transfer from illustrated copies of the Dala’il al-Khayrat (The Ways of Edification). This famous collection of prayers blessing the Prophet, compiled by the 15th-century Sufi mystic...

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2016 Feb 17

Arts Education for Social Transformation in Africa

6:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: 

Gutman Conference Center A1
The African Education Initiative will host a panel on Arts Education for Social Transformation in Africa. Panelists will draw from their experiences in Cameroon, Tanzania, and Ghana to discuss the role and the impact of arts education in Africa. Together they will examine how the arts in education can be a tool to spark social transformation on the continent.Panelists include:
  • Kosi Yankey, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Danielle Williams, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Divine Gordan Asaah, Harvard Divinity School
  • Flossy Azu,...
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