"Art of Africa" Opens at The College of Wooster Art Museum Jan. 16

"Neckrest" will be one of 80 items on display when The College of Wooster Art Museum hosts “Art of Africa: Objects from the Collection of Warren Robbins" Jan. 16 through March 4.

WOOSTER, Ohio — “Art of Africa: Objects from the Collection of Warren Robbins," an exhibition that features more than 80 objects from the collection of The Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communications in Washington, D.C., comes to The College of Wooster Art Museum Jan. 16 through March 4. Organized by International Arts & Artists of Washington, D.C., the traveling exhibition includes sculpture, textiles, beaded clothing, and jewelry representing nearly 30 cultures of sub-Saharan Africa. Accompanied by music and photographs, “Art of Africa" illustrates the broader cultural context in which these art forms were used. Robbins, The Robbins Center founder and director, is also founder and director emeritus of the National Museum of African Art, now a branch of the Smithsonian Institution.

Originally collected by European explorers and ethnologists as academic specimens or curios, African sculptures had, by the end of the 19th century, begun to accumulate in European natural history museums and found their way into the hands of dealers in antiques and the exotic arts. At the beginning of the 20th century a handful of European artists in France and Germany were intrigued by the unique forms and styles of African art and began to draw creative inspiration from them. The aesthetic significance of African art became highly appreciated and respected in Europe and served as a catalyst for the artistic revolution that ushered in modern art around the world.

Dr. Kwaku Ofori-Ansa , the curator for the exhibition, is an associate professor of African Art at Howard University. He has written for many publications and has lectured on African Art throughout the world. Born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, he has curated several contemporary and traditional African art exhibitions in Ghana and in the U.S. and has led study abroad tours to Ghana for the past six years. He has also provided professional appraisal and valuation of African art for numerous art collectors in the U.S.

“Art of Africa" is made possible at Wooster by a generous bequest from Muriel Mulac Kozlow, a member of the Class of 1948 at The College of Wooster. The exhibition is toured by International Arts & Artists (IA&A), Washington, D.C., a non-profit arts service organization dedicated to promoting excellence in the arts ‹ in all disciplines, styles and media. IA&A enriches cross-cultural understanding through its collaborations with museums and cultural institutions, showcasing artists and arts movements in traveling exhibitions to and from the U.S., Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In addition to its traveling exhibition program, IA&A's Design Studio produces a variety of print and multi-media material to enhance promotion of the arts. Additional information is available at www.artsandartists.org, or by calling 330-263-2495.

The College of Wooster Art Museum's final event of the season will be a contemporary photography exhibition, “Global Anxieties: Seven Perspectives on a Changing Planet," organized in conjunction with the “2007 Sustainable Wooster/Sustainable World" campus symposium on global climate changes. That exhibition opens March 27 and continues through May 13.

The College of Wooster Art Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. All receptions, lectures, exhibitions, and performances are free and open to the public. Group and class tours are also available. Exhibitions and related events are supported, in part, by the Ohio Arts Council with state tax dollars “to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans."

For more information, call 330-263-2388 or visit www.artmuseum.wooster.edu.