Category: Exhibitions
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Examining Switzerland’s Colonial Past at MEG: Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève, December 2022
Illustrated reviews of two exhibitions at MEG (Musée d’ethnographie de Genève), Switzerland’s largest world cultures museum, visited during December 2022: (1) “The Archives of Human Diversity” – a showcase of c.1000 cultural objects from MEG’s permanent collections; (2) “Helvécia: A Forgotten Colonial History” – a photojournalistic presentation of African-origin cultural traditions and heritage practices commemorated by contemporary Helvécians with African ancestry in Bahia, Brazil.
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In the Black Fantastic – African Diaspora Artists Visualising A Future Beyond Racialisation
Carol Ann Dixon’s illustrated review of ‘In the Black Fantastic,’ curated by Ekow Eshun. This group exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, London (29 June – 18 September 2022), featured works by eleven internationally acclaimed African diaspora artists. Elements of myth, spirituality, folklore, otherworldly imaginings and speculative fiction combined to offer creative responses to everyday experiences of racialisation in the West.
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The Liberatory Aesthetics of ‘Africa Fashion’ at the V&A, London, July 2022 – April 2023
An illustrated review of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s ‘Africa Fashion’ exhibition, written by Carol Ann Dixon, Ph.D. More than 250 items featured in this showcase, including contemporary couture by fashion-forward collectives (such as MMUSOMAXWELL and Lagos Space Programme), strip-woven aṣọ-òkè and kente textiles, Adire indigo-dyed fabrics, and east and southern African kangas.
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Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara
Dr Carol Ann Dixon’s review of the ‘Sahel’ exhibition (The Met, NYC, 2020). The content focuses primarily on the forms and expressions of material culture that emerged in the western Sahel, spanning key transitional periods from the dawn of ancient Ghana in the 4th century through to the fall of the Segu Empire in 1861.
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En Plein Air: Reflections of a ‘Black Flaneuse’ in New York
As I look back to document a few more reflections on my mid-February trip to New York, the memories that immediately return (writing three months on) create a remembrance that seems much more vivid than is typical when recounting past life experiences over that space of time. Moreover, the thoughts that have come back to […]
MUSEUM GEOGRAPHIES 