Narrative Wisdom and African Arts explores how historical and contemporary African arts make visible narratives rooted in collective and individual memory and knowledge.
The exhibition acknowledges the intersections between certain historical arts and oral traditions and places historical works made by artists across sub-Saharan Africa during the 13th to 20th centuries in conversation with contemporary works by African artists working around the globe.
Pictorial forms are featured prominently. In this way, Narrative Wisdom and African Arts breaks away from biases toward formal abstraction in African art. By underscoring the mutability of meanings associated with African narrative arts, the exhibition challenges Western constructs of narrative.
Drawing from public and private collections in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, and African artists working around the globe, the exhibition features an extensive array of media, including sculpture in wood, ivory, and metal, textiles, works on paper, photography, painting, and time-based works.
Narrative Wisdom and African Arts is curated by Nichole N. Bridges the Morton D. May Curator of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, with curatorial assistant Amy Clark and research assistant Elyse D. Schaeffer. It is accompanied by an audio guide and a scholarly exhibition catalogue.
This exhibition is organized by the Saint Louis Art Museum and is open between 19 October, 2024 - 16 February, 2025.
