I Am... Contemporary Women Artists of Africa Daytime Tour

The exhibition, I Am…Contemporary Women Artists of Africa features modern and contemporary work by 27 artists selected from the African Art Museum’s permanent collection, including some who are internationally recognized such as Ghada Amer, Zanele Muholi, and Wangechi Mutu, as well as many others who may be unfamiliar to visitors. Most of these works were acquired since 2014 and have not previously been seen in Washington, DC.

This show emphasizes the uniqueness of individual women’s voices through a wide array of media, formats, styles and subjects, and includes videos, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, paintings, and photography. Nigerian artist Patience Torlowei’s haute-couture dress, “Esther,” is painted with dazzling images which, on close inspection, depict the ravages of war and the mining of “blood diamonds.” An untitled piece by Batoul S’Himi shows a map of the world carved into the side of a pressure cooker, a commentary on the constraints and expectations of gender. The artist Adejoke Tugbiyele critiques the status LGBTQ people through an androgynous figure evoking a position of hard labor and sex work.

General Information

• Meet your Smithsonian Associates Rep by the Information Desk, no later than listed start time.
• While there is metered street parking and several parking lots and garages near the building, space is limited, your best bet is using METRO.