# African Arts Initiative ## expand\_more 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 expand\_more [Interview with Mandisi Dyantyis](https://vimeo.com/799953418) ![Video Screenshot of Mandisi's Interview with Mandisi and Terry](/sites/g/files/omnuum9081/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/african-studies/files/screenshot_2024-06-03_at_10.22.56_am.png?itok=t0TIVkBe) [Interview with Nelson Makamo](https://vimeo.com/799929825) ![Nelson Makamo and Sarah Clunis Interview in Cabot Library Studio](/sites/g/files/omnuum9081/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/african-studies/files/nelson_makamo_and_sarah_clunis_interview_in_cabot_library_studio.jpg?itok=w5S42Ft1) [Interview with Atang Tshikare](https://vimeo.com/799968240) ![Atang Tshikare Photo in studio](/sites/g/files/omnuum9081/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/african-studies/files/img_8725.jpg?itok=yz6j2qRo) [Interview with Gavin Rajah](https://vimeo.com/799963265) ![Screenshot of Gavin Rajah's interview](/sites/g/files/omnuum9081/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/african-studies/files/screenshot_2024-06-03_at_10.26.10_am.png?itok=z6c-PcA1) ### News expand\_more [### Nelson Makamo and Mandisi Dyantyis' Artist-in-Residency Conversation and Concert ](/news/nelson-makamo-and-mandisi-dyantyis-artist-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... [### The Center for African Studies Launches the Artist-in-Residence Program ](/news/center-african-studies-launches-artist-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... [### Atang Tshikare, South African Artist, Visits Harvard Center for African Studies ](/news/atang-tshikare-south-african-artist-visits-harvard-center-african-studies) November 22, 2021 On November 22, 2021, Atang Tshikare visited the Harvard Center for African Studies and interviewed with Sarah Clunis, Director of Academic Partnerships at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Atang Tshikare is a Cape Town based, self-taught... [### HEAR WORD! Naija Woman Talk True Live at the ART end of January ](/news/hear-word-naija-woman-talk-true-live-art-end-january) January 18, 2018 The Center for African Studies is proud and excited to have HEAR WORD! Naija Woman Talk True back in Cambridge at the Loeb Drama Center from January 26 - February 11. “ HEAR WORD! celebrates the powerful voices of Nigerian women,” says A.R.T. Artistic... ### Events - Past and Present expand\_more ## Events [### Art Informs Art: Conversation and Concert ](/event/art-informs-art-conversation-and-concert?occ_id=0)April 28, 2022 | 5:30PM - 7:30PM EDT | Tsai Auditorium (CGIS-South,1730 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02138) In Person Art Informs Art: Conversation and Concert Join us on Thursday, April 28th at 5:30pm in the Tsai Auditorium (CGIS South), for a unique opportunity to hear from acclaimed international artist Nelson Makamo and jazz musician and composer Mandisi Dyantyis for... [### Artist Talk: Young Joo Lee and Akosua Adoma Owusu ](/event/artist-talk-young-joo-lee-and-akosua-adoma-owusu?occ_id=0)March 31, 2022 | 7:00PM - 8:30PM EDT | Virtual In Person Register Here The Carpenter Center is fortunate to have an impressive and wide-ranging group of artists working across photography, participatory and performance-based practices, painting and drawing, and video teaching in the Department of Art, Film, and... [### Art as Activism - A Conversation with Nelson Makamo ](/event/art-activism-conversation-nelson-makamo?occ_id=0)December 7, 2021 | 3:00PM - 4:30PM EST | In Person for Harvard ID Holders & Virtual In Person Art as Activism – A conversation with Nelson Makamo "Art is one of the things that doesn’t choose the audience: the audience chooses it." - Nelson Makamo on his work. Nelson's work has always been about hope. Art can be enjoyed by everyone, and Makamo... [### African Twilight: Vanishing Ceremonies of the African Continent ](/event/african-twilight-vanishing-ceremonies-african-continent?occ_id=0)December 5, 2019 | 4:00PM - 6:00PM EST | Center for African Studies Lounge - 1280 Massachusetts Ave., 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MA In Person For the last forty years American born Carol Beckwith and Australian Angela Fisher have journeyed over 300,000 miles travelling through 44 countries and recording over 150 cultures on the African continent. Their recently published double volume book... [### Art Study Center Seminar: Painted Piety—The Art of Religious Devotion in Morocco ](/event/art-study-center-seminar-painted-piety%E2%80%94-art-religious-devotion-morocco?occ_id=0)March 8, 2019 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM EST | Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street Cambridge MA In Person In this seminar, Mounia Chekhab Aboudaya, curator for North Africa and Iberia at the Museum of Islamic Art, in Doha, Qatar, and Rachel Parikh, the Calderwood Curatorial Fellow in South Asian Art at the Harvard Art Museums, will explore the religious and... [### Art and Religious Devotion in Morocco: Notes on a Calligraphic Panel from the Harvard Art Museums ](/event/art-and-religious-devotion-morocco-notes-calligraphic-panel-harvard-art-0?occ_id=0)March 6, 2019 | 6:00PM - 7:15PM EST | Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street Cambridge MA In Person 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... - Previous page chevron\_left - [1](?page=0 "Current page") - [2](?page=1 "Go to page 2") - [ Next page chevron\_right ](?page=1 "Go to next page")