Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought

View 100 masterworks of the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin.

May 16, 1990 – August 26, 1990

African Art Museum

Yinka Shonibare MBE

See the most comprehensive exhibition of works by this internationally renowned Nigerian, London-based artist to date.

November 10, 2009 – March 7, 2010

African Art Museum

Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity

View an exhibition examining the history and use of traditional kente cloth in Ghana and exploring the impact contemporary kente production has had in other African countries and the United States.

September 12, 1999 – January 2, 2000

African Art Museum

World on the Horizon: Swahili Arts Across the Indian Ocean

World on the Horizon explores Swahili arts as objects of mobility, outcomes of encounter, and as products of trade and imperialism.

May 9, 2018 – September 3, 2018

African Art Museum

Wood Carving from Zaire

See a sculpture of a woman and child that is the only Yombe maternity figure of its kind in a public museum collection in the U.S.

February 1, 1984 – February 5, 1984

African Art Museum

Where Gods and Mortals Meet: Continuity and Renewal in Urhobo Art

See the first exhibition devoted to the arts and culture of the Urhobo people, who live in the Niger River Delta in southern Nigeria.

June 23, 2005 – September 25, 2005

African Art Museum

Visions from the Forests: The Art of Liberia and Sierra Leone

Learn about the little-known arts of Liberia and Sierra Leone through 70 artworks from the collection of William Siegmann.

April 9, 2014 – August 17, 2014

African Art Museum

TxtStyles: Fashioning Identity

View never before or rarely seen African costumes and textiles drawn from the National Museum of African Art's collection.

June 11, 2008 – December 28, 2008

African Art Museum

Tribute to Africa: Eliot Elisofon Photographs

See an audio-visual presentation of the outstanding color photography of Eliot Elisofon, renowned TIME/LIFE photographer.

January 1, 1980 – July 31, 1980

African Art Museum

Treasures of Ancient Nigeria: Legacy of 2,000 Years

See approximately 100 objects that comprise the first comprehensive exhibition of Nigerian art in the U.S.

December 18, 1980 – February 1, 1981

African Art Museum

Treasures from Tervuren: Selections from the Belgian Royal Museum for Central Africa

See 125 objects from the world's greatest collection of central African art.

June 25, 1997 – October 19, 1997

African Art Museum

See 74 artworks made of ivory ranging from small personal objects, such as containers and jewelry, to large public objects, such as carved tusks and staffs, dating from the 15th through the 20th centuries.

April 17, 2008 – August 24, 2008

African Art Museum

Treasures

View a changing exhibition that commemorates the museum's 25th anniversary by interweaving masterpieces from the museum's collection with artworks from public and private collections.

November 17, 2004 – August 15, 2005

African Art Museum

Transatlantic Dialogue: Contemporary Art In and Out of Africa

View some 40 works by 16 artists that explore a dialogue between African artists who have traveled in the West and African American artists who have traveled in West Africa.

May 21, 2000 – September 3, 2000

African Art Museum

Traditional Costumes and Jewelry of Egypt

View embroidered dresses, cloaks, veils, belts, footwear, necklaces, bracelets and other items from all sections of Egypt, including the eastern desert, the Sinai, Nubia and oases of the south.

March 16, 1981 – May 3, 1981

African Art Museum

Traditional Costumery and Jewelry in Africa

View costumes from Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Kenya as well as jewelry of the Berber people of Algeria and Morocco, the Masai of Tanzania, the Zulu of southeastern Africa, the Baule of the Ivory Coast, and the Bobo of Upper Volta

February 27, 1981 – May 31, 1981

African Art Museum

Traditional Art of Angola and Cameroon

View selections from the permanent collection.

December 18, 1980 – May 31, 1981

African Art Museum

Traditional Art from Upper Volta

View more than 115 masks, figures, jewelry, and utilitarian items from the Bwa, Bobo, Lobi, Mossi, and Gurunis peoples of Upper Volta.

January 1, 1980 – May 31, 1980

African Art Museum

Three Explorations: Yoruba, Temne, and Baga

Examine a Yoruba mask, a Temne female figure, and a Baga ritual object in the context of their creation, use, and history.

November 22, 1995 – February 25, 1996

African Art Museum

Thinking With Animals: African Images and Perceptions

View portrayals of animals as reminders in African art of man's dependence on the animal world for physical and emotional well-being.

March 24, 1982 – September 6, 1982

African Art Museum

The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection Highlights

On view are objects from this comprehensive 525-piece collection of African art representing 20 African countries and 75 peoples and covers 5 centuries of African art.

May 18, 2009 – Closed

African Art Museum

The Useful Arts of Kenya

See a comprehensive display of Kenyan arts and crafts, plus other utilitarian objects.

January 1, 1980 – May 15, 1980

African Art Museum

The Stranger Among Us

View masks, textiles, and sculpture by traditional African artists in this exhibition tracing African encounters with outside influences.

March 24, 1982 – September 6, 1982

African Art Museum

The Sculptor's Eye: Chaim Gross Collection

View 150 figures, masks and other objects, as well as 250 Ashanti goldweights from Chaim Gross's collection.

January 1, 1980 – March 31, 1980

African Art Museum

The Rising of a New Moon: A Century of Tabwa Art

View approximately 80 carved ancestral figures, masks, musical instruments, and utilitarian objects that present the work of the Tabwa people of southeastern Zaire and northeastern Zambia.

January 29, 1986 – March 17, 1986

African Art Museum