Creative Africa

Four exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art focus on modern and contemporary African art and design, offering a dialogue between tradition and innovation.

Francis Kéré, Laongo CSPS Clinic, Burkinabe, © Kéré Architecture

This spring, the Philadelphia Museum of Art presents five exhibitions and a series of related programs that feature a broad spectrum of the arts from across the African continent. The exhibitions will include historical works of art as well as contemporary fashion, photography, design, and architecture.

Alexandra Township, Shebeen Blues, 2008-2015 — Alexandra Township, from the series *Shebeen Blues*, 2008 (negative); 2015 (print). Gelatin silver print, courtesy the artist, © Ananias Léki Dago

“Three Photographers/Six Cities” – through 25 September 2016 – curated by Peter Barberie, is an exhibition that presents an in-depth look at three photographers who create powerful pictures of African cities. From Akinbode Akinbiyi’s observation of urban centers and Seydou Camara’s examination of Islamic manuscripts to Ananias Léki Dago’s pictures of offbeat locales.

Akinbode Akinbiyi, Untitled (Lagos, Nigeria), 2004 — Akinbode Akinbiyi, *Untitled* (Lagos, Nigeria), 2004, inkjet print. Courtesy the artist, © Akinbode Akinbiyi

“Vlisco: African Fashion on a Global Stage” – through 22 January 2017, curated by Dilys Blum – explores this celebrated company’s most enduring designs, examining the process of creating a new textile, and showcasing a selection of contemporary fashions by African and European makers as well as Vlisco’s in-house design team.

Curated by H. Kristina Haugland, “Threads of Tradition” – through January 2017 – focuses on the traditional patterns in West and Central African textiles and the techniques used to create them, including strip weaving, resist dyeing, piecing, appliqué, and embroidery.

Vlisco, La Famille, printed Textile, 1952, cotton plain weave, wax‑resist print. © Vlisco — Vlisco, La Famille, printed textile, 1952, cotton plain weave, wax‑resist print. © Vlisco

“The Architecture of Francis Kéré: Building for Community” – through 25 September 2016 – features a site-specific, immersive environment designed by this world-renowned Burkina-Faso-born architect. Kéré is best known for work that emphasizes the collaborative and collective nature of building, responding to local cultures, knowledge, materials, and technologies. This exhibition is curated by Kathryn Bloom Hiesinger.