Educators Resources for GLOBAL AFRICA: Creativity, Continuity, and Change

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1 Educators Resources for GLOBAL AFRICA: Creativity, Continuity, and Change Please find below information about GLOBAL AFRICA: Creativity, Continuity, and Change and pre-visit suggested discussion topics to prepare students for their visit. Research has shown that doing the first and second steps listed below helps students concentrate on learning once they get to the museum. Your visit will fulfill the general fourth-grade History framework of studying the people of the United States. This exhibition shows examples of how American culture has been, and is, influenced by people from other countries and cultures. The following websites offer excellent teaching materials: Highly recommended: Teaching About Africa in Elementary Schools billhowe.org/mce/15-misconceptions-about-multicultural-education/ Mar 19, Misconceptions About Multicultural Education. Jerry Aldridge et al. This article is highly recommended. Lessons for middle school. museorigins.net/masquerades/ If you wish to schedule a tour, please contact Ann Descoteaux, Director of Docents, at ext. 302.

2 Pre-visit Preparation 1. Please tell students the agenda for their visit They will go on a (self-guided or guided) tour of Global Africa: Creativity, Continuity, and Change in African Art. There (may or may not) be time to look in the gift shop, the GLOBAL AFRICA Learning Lounge, or other parts of the Museum. They (may or may not) eat lunch at the Museum. 2. and remind them of Museum etiquette Please do not touch the artworks because the salts and oils in your fingertips will damage the art (think fingerprints on a mirror); Please do not run either you, others, or the art could be hurt; Please use a normal speaking voice; Please listen respectfully to your fellow students ideas about the artworks you may hear an idea that makes you see the artwork in a new and interesting way! Discussion Suggestions What does contemporary mean? Traditional? Does traditional always mean old? (These two terms are key to understanding this exhibition.) What are some kinds of art, and some materials used to make art? (painting, sculpture, wood, clay, fabric, plastic, recycled materials, reeds or other plant materials, etc.) Why do you think artists make art? What can you learn by looking at art from different cultures? What are some examples of past traditional crafts that are still done today? (Weaving, pottery, jewelry making, etc.) Are they done in exactly the same way today? If not, how have they changed? Why have they changed? (different materials and tools are available, different cultures might combine traditions because they come into contact with each other through trade, marriage, travel, etc.) What do you already know about Africa or Africans?

3 GLOBAL AFRICA: Creativity, Continuity and Change in African Art Introduction GLOBAL AFRICA celebrates African creativity worldwide whether it occurs in Africa, or England, or Cuba, or America. Traditional and contemporary works are shown side by side. Works by African artists whose names have been lost stand next to those of 20 th and 21 st century African and African diaspora artists whose names are known. Each of the three galleries is organized around a theme: Masquerades, Masks, and Music emphasizes the multi-media nature of African art and the difference between African and Western modes of display. Beyond Indigo looks at the African presence in America, evokes the diversity of cultures represented by individuals forcibly moved from Africa to the western hemisphere, and celebrates the inventiveness of African artists working in wood, metal, and cloth. Life/Afterlife focuses on memory, and the interrelationship of the natural and supernatural worlds. This exhibition was organized by Jean Borgatti, FAM Consulting Curator for African and Oceanic Art, and designed by Catherine Hunter, Independent Museum Consultant. GLOBAL AFRICA was made possible by a generous grant from the Geneviève McMillan-Reba Stewart Foundation. Themes Understanding part of the African contribution to contemporary American culture; How cultural practices spread to other places (the effects of forced migration, i.e. slavery; trade; intermarriage) and affect those cultures; How the same artistic idea, form, or technique can be created in different materials for different reasons (access to new materials; re-claiming a traditional technique to make a statement about history; creating new symbols to reflect contemporary life); Artists often look to art of the past for inspiration to make new art.

4 GLOBAL AFRICA Exhibition Components Artworks African masks a variety Full-size, very colorful masquerades (costumes covering the wearer head-to-toe) used for rituals and celebrations Drums including a Djembe (gem-bay) drum like those used in Drum Circles and a wooden, carved slit gong drum Traditional carved wood Chi wara (antelope) headcrests used in agrarian fertility rituals, paired with a contemporary chi wara made from bicycle parts by an African American artist Four types of traditional, symbolic African cloth used for special occasions: Kente, Adire (indigo), Adinkra, and Dutch Wax Metal objects, highly valued as currency Brass weights for weighing gold dust (called gold weights) Actual-size replica of a historic slave cabin made from wood covered with indigo-dyed cloth Traditional and contemporary containers used as coffins or urns Educational Labels in English and Spanish in the exhibition and Learning Lounge Videos on: Weaving, pottery, iron working, indigo dyeing, and adinkra stamping techniques Artists Barbara Ward, Sokari Douglas Camp, Pius Isah Omogbai Masquerade performances of Malian Chi Wara, Cuban Abaku, and Nigerian Ebonko and Okakabe dancers Learning Lounge Maps of Africa showing its relative size to other countries, past Empires, geography, population densities, and climates Illustrated timeline of global African history, focused mainly on artistic techniques Interactive Stations o Make a mask o Try on African clothing o Weaving with non-traditional materials o Design a symbolic cloth o Reading area with children s books!! See the following pages for a few examples of what you ll see during your visit.

5 From GLOBAL AFRICA: Creativity, Continuity, and Change Indigo Project by contemporary artist Ife Franklin (replica of a slave cabin covered in indigo cloth) A masquerade Kente cloth (hand-woven)