Object Histories: From the African Continent to the SCMA Galleries

August 2018-June 2020: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, 12-4 p.m. Second Friday of the month, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. This special installation, drawn from the SCMA collection, traces the unique histories of over twenty of the Museum's most important works of African art. New research has connected artists with objects that were previously unattributed, while the roles of collectors and donors are examined in conjunction with the objects' own cultural histories and meanings. The Smith College Museum of Art began collecting African art in 1939, with the acquisition of a ceremonial axe made by the Luba people in the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, the collection has grown to over two hundred pieces of sculpture, textile, painting, photography and video. Dating primarily to the 20th and 21st centuries, the collection continues to expand in the areas of photography, mixed media and video as well as sculptural objects. Object Histories was curated by Susan E. Kart, Smith class of 1996, Assistant Professor of the Arts of Africa, Lehigh University.  The installation was supported by SCMA members and donors to the museum's 2015 Annual Appeal.