Exhibition

Contemporary African Spirituality in Art – Group Show

Walsh Gallery, South Orange, United States
16 Jan 2024 - 20 May 2024

clockwise from top left: Tokie Rome-Taylor No Weapon Formed Against Me Shall Prosper, cyanotype, 34

clockwise from top left: Tokie Rome-Taylor No Weapon Formed Against Me Shall Prosper, cyanotype, 34" x 24" 2022 (detail), Komikka Patton I Embrace Change, mixed media, 20" x 20", 2023 (detail), Data Oruwari Celestial Intuitions, mixed media, 30" x 20", 2019 (detail), Tenjin Ikeda Awon Iya wa Builds Nations, linocut, 40" x 30", 2019 (detail)

The Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University presents Contemporary African Spirituality in Art. The show is curated by Atim Annette Oton the Director and Curator of Calabar Gallery which showcases contemporary African and African Diaspora artists in three locations.

The exhibition features more than 25 artists working abroad and in the United States to collectively address the subject and influence of African spirituality on the world stage. Participating artists include: Seyi Adebanjo, Ron Baker, Vladimir Cybil Charlier, Digi Chivetta, Elvira Clayton, Willie Cole, Antoinette Ellis-Williams, Maurice Evans, Ricardo Osmondo Francis, Geraldine Gaines, Toka Hlongwane, Tenjin Ikeda, Damien Jélaine, Ben F. Jones, brandon king, Grace Kisa, Iyaba Ibo Mandingo, Cassandra Martin, Don Miller, Data Oruwari, Komikka Patton, Fahamu Pecou (Ph.D.), Rosy Petri, Ransome, Sachi Rome, Tokie Rome-Taylor, Erik Olivera Rubio and Ghislaine Sabiti.

Contemporary African Spirituality in Art speaks to what cultural practices have been mixed, juxtaposed and collided with ideas, themes, materiality and techniques that are both African and contemporary by African and African diaspora artists. The exhibition examines the transformation of spirituality through seven key themes: Altars, Rituals and Prayer; Healing, Protection and Symbols; Faith and Intuition; Family, Roots, Community, Freedom and Power; Protest, Revolution, Justice and Celebration; God, Goddess and Constructing Identities; and Present, The Future and Liberation. This interdisciplinary exhibition brings together multimedia art to present a thesis on Contemporary African Spirituality using art practices and programming to visualize these ideas.

 

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