CCoommppiilleedd bbyy JJaanneett BBrroowwnneeProgramme Manager Black Heritage & Culture, V&A

THE V&A acknowledgesthat its significant col-lection of over 4,000Africa-related objects is

of on-going interest to diverseaudiences within the UK andabroad. For more than 10years the V&A has been explor-ing African narratives and inter-pretation, many developedthrough mutual partnershipsand cultural collaborations toensure authenticity acrossevents, study days, displaysand exhibitions; the celebrationof festivals and anniversaries,commemoration of significantlandmarks and honouring tal-ented ancestors and modern

day heroes and sheroes. History, heritage, culture and

legacy are significant factors inthe museum’s determination toensure continued public visibil-ity of its Africa collection,through new gallery interpreta-tion, publications and web-based projects, this in additionto a long awaited dedicated

gallery space, which ispresently under discussion.

The V&A Africa CuratorsGroup, formed in January2009, is currently developing itsstrategy for collecting art anddesign of Africa and theDiaspora. The Group is over-seeing 3 displays over a 3 yearperiod to showcase African art

and design. The first and on display at the

Museum until 3 February 2013is V&A Africa – Exploring HiddenHistories, with 100 objects thatdate from 1850 to the present.

Future displays will com-prise of prints and drawingsby indigenous Africans col-lected by the Museum overthe last 45 years, and a laterdisplay that considers con-temporary African design.

“History, heritage, culture andlegacy are significant factors inthe museum’s determinationto ensure continued public

visibility of its Africa collection”

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THE DISPLAY

THE VISITOR GUIDE

THE LIVE EVENT

Victory to the Freedom Fighters of South Africa, Rachael Romero,San Francisco Poster Brigade, 1977

THIS DISPLAY of around 100 objectsfrom the V&A’s collections looks at theV&A’s engagement with and changingview of art and design from Africa sincethe earliest days of the Museum in the1850s to the present. It is the first of aseries of displays to highlight the V&A’ssignificant holdings of art and designfrom Africa, and the first time many ofthese objects will be shown.

Exploring Hidden Histories revealssome of the stories which lie behind theacquisition of the V&A’s African objectswhich include jewellery, textiles andsculpture. The display is supported bythe Heritage Lottery Fund, with addi-tional support from the Arts andHumanities Research Council forresearch into African textiles.

Traditional distinctions between ‘art’and ‘ethnography’, and between NorthAfrica and sub-Saharan regions, led tomany African objects being representedonly in anthropological collections inBritain. Where the V&A has collectedsub-Saharan African objects it wasbecause they demonstrated excellencein a particular material or technique.

To highlight these historic distinctionsbetween ‘art’ and ‘ethnography’, thedisplay opens with 36 black and whitephotographs by Walker Evans commis-sioned by the Museum of Modern Art,

New York in 1935 to document its firstever exhibition of African art. Some areframed as fine art photographs and oth-ers are shown as they originallyappeared bearing ethnographic labelsdetailing the object type and place oforigin.

The V&A has an extensive collectionof North African jewellery because cul-turally North Africa was viewed as part ofthe Middle East and its decorative artswere highly prized and actively col-

lected. A number of these pieces areshown alongside jewellery created inEthiopia in the 19th-century and Asantegold ornaments from Ghana.

The display reflects the growing inter-est in African art and culture of the1950s and 60s as many African coun-tries were gaining independence.

Metalware, sculpture and textiles col-lected and toured to colleges andmuseums all over Britain during thisperiod will be shown.

Contemporary African works includ-ing a film of excerpts from AtholFugard's landmark play The Island(2000) and photographs by ZaneleMuholi and Santu Mofokeng acquired in2010 following the V&A’s exhibition ofphotographs by contemporary SouthAfrican artists, will illustrate theMuseum’s continuing commitment torepresenting and collecting art anddesign from Africa.

The V&A does not have a gallery ded-icated to African art and design, butthere are many objects on displaythroughout the Museum that were eithermade in Africa or have a connectionwith Africa.

THIS GUIDE highlights 12 objects inthe V&A’s collections that have rele-vance to Africa and the Diaspora. Itgives details about the objects andwhere they can be seen in themuseum, and includes personal

responses from leading heritage prac-titioners and cultural commentatorsthat not only challenge European rep-resentations of Africa and blackAfricans in the past, but also our ownperceptions and views today.

SPEED DATE with historians and layscholars about the objects they ‘love’.Go in search of hidden representa-tions of Africa and collect a reward.Create re-cycled accessories from tincans with artist Jackie Mwanza, learna drum call and respond to it, and talkAfrican textiles with PhD ResearchFellow Nicola Stylianou.

Join Zimbabwean DJ Dece (aka

Dumiso Gambe) in the Museum’sGrand Entrance, playing an originalmash-up of world music and modernbeats - mixing West African chantswith hip hop and South Africanvocals with drum & bass.

Finally enjoy live music withThabani Nyoni and his band in theCafé and hear pieces from his latestwork ‘Ekaya’. Originally from

Bulawayo, Thabani combines sweetSouthern African melodies with funk,jazz and chanted vocals in a livelyand passionate way. Inspired bygreats such as Fela Kuti, ThomasMapfumo, Brenda Fassie andYoussou N’Dour, Thabani’s songsrecall ancient African rituals and talkabout love, friendship and betrayal.

SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAAND THE DIASPORAA guide to Black Heritageobjects in the V&A’s collection

Africa: Speed, Search, SoundFriday 1 February, 18.30 – 21.30

Mask, Ivory Coast, NY (City), WalkerEvans, c. 1935

Bangle, Zanzibar, 19th Century

Ornament, Ghana, before 1874

The Toy Seller, William Mulready, 1835 Theatre Costume, Peter Minshall, 1974

Ancestral Figure, Walker Evans

All im

ages courtesy of the ©V&

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voicenewspaper @thevoicenewswww.voice-online.co.ukw! voicenewspaper @thevoicenewswww.voice-online.co.ukw!AArrttss AArrttss

UNVEILING AFRICAAT THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

Free activities and events

Mikisi, Figure, Congo, 1900 - 1920

V&A AFRICA – EXPLORING HIDDENHISTORIES UNTIL 3 FEBRUARY 2013

THESE PAGES ARE SPONSORED BY THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM • WEBSITE: WWW.VAM.AC.UK

Jacqueline Asafu-Adjaye Sponsored Features Editor

Why not visit the V&A andpick up your copy of theguide and explore the vastnumber of galleries to findrepresentations of Africawithin them?

Victoria and Albert MuseumCromwell RoadLondonSW7 2RL

Nearest stations: South Kensington andKnightsbridgeNearest buses: C1, 14, 414 and 74

Tell us what you think. Email yourviews@gvmedia.co.uk

With so much going on whynot join us in celebratingAfrica at the V&A with threeexciting FREE activities includ-ing the display V&A Africa –Exploring Hidden Histories,the visitor guide Spotlight onAfrica and the Diaspora andlive public event Africa: Speed,Search, Sound on Friday 1February 2013.

! Jointly organized with Kaya Festival