African Art: Form, Function, and Fraught Histories Exhibit

Although often misunderstood by the West, African art has had an enormous impact on the world. While Africans created objects for culturally specific functions, their aesthetics challenged Western society and shaped its perceptions. This exhibit presents the relationship between the aesthetic and cultural functions of African art objects and the historical context of their global influence. It also addresses modern questions of cultural appropriation, representation and repatriation in presenting this updated interpretation. Using the museum's extensive African Art collection, Wright State University Graduate Students in Public History assisted the NAAMCC curatorial staff with its creation.