Exhibition Fact Sheet from the National Building Museum

Lasting Foundations: Fact Sheet

The Art of Architecture in Africa Exhibition Fact Sheet

Exhibition      

Lasting Foundations: The Art of Architecture in Africa

When

October 6, 2007 through January 13, 2008

Where

National Building Museum, second-floor galleries

Overview

Lasting Foundations: The Art of Architecture in Africa shows some of the innovative and varied ways in which Africans have built and decorated their homes, palaces, and public buildings. Whether mosques or churches meant to last for generations, or residential structures continuously evolving with the ebb and flow of daily life, African buildings are typically both practical and beautiful, adapted to the landscape, and imbued with symbolic significance.

Developed by the Museum for African Art in New York City, Lasting Foundations surveys some of the creative architectural solutions Africans have devised in constructing shelters, ceremonial buildings, and cities. The exhibition also explores how contemporary architecture in Africa blends practical and aesthetic inspiration from the past, with the needs of people in the present.

Exhibition Layout

Lasting Foundations opens with a large map of Africa surrounded by keyed photographs that convey the great diversity of building traditions across the continent. The main body of the exhibition is divided into sections corresponding to specific geographical regions or ethnic groups. The exhibition concludes with a film showing the extraordinary intensity of activity surrounding the annual replastering of the historic Djenne mosque in Mali.

Artifacts

Lasting Foundations includes more than 50 original artifacts, ranging from elaborately carved columns, ladders, and doors, to textiles such as a large floor mat and ceremonial robe that illuminate connections between various African domestic crafts. In addition, dozens of photographs of buildings, villages, and interior spaces portray the diverse colors, patterns, and forms of vernacular African architecture. Specific regions and ethnic groups represented in the exhibition include Mali, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire; Ghana; the Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba peoples of Nigeria; the Sahara; Ethiopia; the Swahili Coast and Tanzania; Cameroon; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and South Africa. There is also a section of works by contemporary African photographers that depict aspects of modern South African architectural culture and address Western attitudes toward African building traditions.

Curators

The exhibition was developed by the Museum for African Art in New York City and curated by Dr Enid Schildkrout, chief curator and director of exhibitions and publications, Museum for African Art, along with Jerry Vogel, deputy director, Museum for African Art, and Laurie Ann Farrell, executive director of exhibitions, The Savannah College of Art and Design. Martin Moeller is the coordinating curator for the National Building Museum.

Sponsors

Lasting Foundations: The Art of Architecture in Africa was organized by the Museum for African Art, New York, and sponsored by Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.   

The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to exploring and celebrating architecture, design, engineering, construction, and planning. Chartered by Congress in 1980 and open to the public since 1985, the Museum has become a vital forum for exchanging ideas and information about the built environment through its exhibitions, education programs, and publications. The Museum is located at 401 F Street NW, Washington, D.C. Museum hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. Admission is free. Museum Shop. Café. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org.