Sections
  • News & Politics
  • Food
  • Things to Do
  • Washingtonian Events
  • Home & Style
  • Editors’ Picks
  • Events Calendar
  • Health
  • Longreads
  • Parenting
  • Real Estate
  • Shopping
  • Travel
  • Weddings
Reader Favorites
  • Subscribe
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
  • Washingtonian Events
Washington’s Best
  • Apartment Rentals
  • DC Travel Guide
  • Dentists
  • Doctors
  • Financial Advisers
  • Health Experts
  • Home Improvement Experts
  • Industry Leaders
  • Lawyers
  • Mortgage Professionals
  • Pet Care
  • Private Schools
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Restaurants
  • Retirement Communities
  • Wedding Vendors
More
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
© 2022 Washingtonian Media Inc.
Privacy Policy
All Rights Reserved
 Rss
Skip to content
Washingtonian.com
  • Search
  • Subscribe
  • Menu
  • News & Politics
  • Things to Do
  • Food
  • Health
  • Shopping
  • Home & Style
  • Real Estate
  • Weddings
  • Travel

  • Subscribe
  • Neighborhoods
  • Newsletters
  • Directories
  • Washingtonian Events
  • Trending Now in News & Politics
  • Supreme Court
  • Abortion
  • People
  • National Mall
  • Food
News & Politics

An Afro-Atlantic History Exhibition Is Coming to the National Gallery of Art Next Year

"Afro-Atlantic Histories" marks a departure for the gallery.

Written by Daniella Byck
| Published on August 18, 2021
Tweet Share
Aaron Douglas' Into Bondage, 1936. Image courtesy of National Gallery of Art.
Aaron Douglas' Into Bondage, 1936. Image courtesy of National Gallery of Art.

The National Gallery of Art, which began life as a vast collection of Impressionist and other Europe-centric artists, has spent the last few years looking at ways to shift its approach and become a more diverse place that’s less constrained by the classics. A multimedia show set to open next year may be the most striking step yet.

Opening at the gallery on April 10, 2022, Afro-Atlantic Histories will depict the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade across the African diaspora. The exhibition first appeared in Brazil’s Museu de Arte de São Paulo. It features 130 paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, and documents from artists representing 24 countries on both sides of the Atlantic. Works of art span 500 years, dating back to the onset of the transatlantic slave trade in the 1600s.

Rather than arranging the exhibition by chronology, geography, or artist, the pieces are grouped into six themes: Maps and Margins, Enslavements and Emancipations, Everyday Lives, Rites and Rhythms, Portraits, and Resistances and Activism. The concept-oriented design is intended to create a visual discussion between images across history and perspectives, challenging the idea of a singular narrative that defines the African diaspora.

It’s a departure from older museum tradition—rather than focusing on a single artist or school, Afro-Atlantic Histories contrasts a variety of viewpoints across genre, time, and geography, with creators like French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, Ghanaian installation artist Ibrahim Mahama, and American silhouette artist Kara Walker.

“We’re really putting all these different voices in conversation—transhistorical, transnational conversations—to create this dialogue,” says Kanitra Fletcher, who in January became the gallery’s first-ever curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art.

Dalton Paula's Zeferina, 2018. Image courtesy of National Gallery of Art.
Dalton Paula’s Zeferina, 2018. Image courtesy of National Gallery of Art.

Even the location of the display in the museum’s West Building is intended to rethink conventions. In the past, the West Building, which houses the gallery’s European paintings and sculpture, has housed the more traditional visiting shows, while many of the edgier ones have been in the modernist East wing. Putting this show in the same building as original benefactor Paul Mellon’s Monets and Seurats is intended to send a message.

“It’s creating space for the presence of Black and African people and how they have been integral to the development of so-called Western civilization,” says Fletcher.

In addition to the exhibition, NGA is organizing a slate of lectures, performances and digital programs to accompany the artistic display. Afro-Atlantic Histories will be open from April 10, 2022 until July 17, 2022.

 

 

More: Afro-Atlantic HistoriesNational Gallery of Art
Join the conversation!
Share Tweet
Daniella Byck
Daniella Byck
Assistant Editor

Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in August 2018. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studied journalism and digital culture.

Most Popular in News & Politics

1

Roe v. Wade Was Overturned. These Protests Are Happening Around DC.

2

Anti-Abortion Clinic Protests Are Getting Bigger and More Aggressive

3

A Massive Asian-American Led Protest Is Happening Saturday. Here’s What You Need to Know

4

“The Handmaid’s Tale” Is Filming on the National Mall and the Photos are Kinda Intense

5
Joe Biden 1974 Profile Kitty Kelley

Death and the All-American Boy

Washingtonian Magazine

July 2022: Summer Music Guide

July 2022: Summer Music Guide

View Issue
Subscribe

Follow Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Follow Us on Social

We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day

Related

PHOTOS: Barack and Michelle Obama Visited the National Gallery of Art

Jazz in the Garden Makes Its Big Return May 20

5 Fascinating Works From the “Afro-Atlantic Histories” Exhibit

Red and green fireworks.

Best Things to Do in the DC Area, 4/11-4/17: Fireworks, Notre Dame, and Afro-Atlantic Histories

More from News & Politics

Devastation, Joy, and Fury: Reactions From the Supreme Court

Roe v. Wade Was Overturned. These Protests Are Happening Around DC.

PHOTOS: DC’s British Embassy Caps Off Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee

Photos from the Supreme Court: Roe v. Wade Has Been Overturned

50 Years After Title IX: Why Survivors Still Need More Protections

Anti-Abortion Clinic Protests Are Getting Bigger and More Aggressive

“Reading Lolita in Tehran” Author Azar Nafisi on How Freddie Mercury of Queen Helped Her Survive Life in Iran

This Maryland Start-Up Is on the Brink of Winning a Prestigious XPRIZE

© 2022 Washingtonian Media Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Washingtonian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Privacy Policy and Opt-Out
 Rss
Get the best news, delivered weekly.
By signing up, you agree to our terms.
  • Subscribe
  • Manage My Subscription
  • Digital Edition
  • Shop
  • Contests
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs