Africa in the World: materials without end
Curated by Risham Majeed
Opening Reception: March 26, 2026
Gallery Talk: April 15, 2:30 - 3:30 pm
Time, that inscrutable force that passes through all things but that only appears to register in its reception by human beings, is multiple in its manifestations and belongs to no single moment. In other words, there is no single ‘now’
- Keith Moxey, “What time is it in the history of art? (2018)
This exhibition presents original artifacts alongside several various reproductions of historical works of art. The premodern period is a long span of time that connects the ancient world to the end of the European Middle Ages (100 B.C.E. to 1500 C.E.). Long before the “voyages of discovery,” merchant sailors had mastered the seas and nomads had harnessed camels as “ships of the desert.” Through their specialized knowledge, these people enabled access to the desert and the sea connecting India, Africa, and Europe.
The constellation of objects in this exhibition reveals tenacious origin stories beginning with the procurement of raw and precious materials, their transport to important ports, such as Alexandria and Berenike, where they were fashioned into artifacts for élite individuals. As they moved in time and space, materials and artworks took on new meanings and at times were physically altered to align with new customs. What was pedestrian to one culture might be a powerful religious symbol to another, and what was sacred in the eyes of one group became a marvel to the next.
These objects demonstrate the power inherent in all works of art to exceed the parameters of their chronological circumstances; the ability to adapt to new locations, new cultures, and new centuries. They represent the past piercing through the present and persisting into the future.
Curated by: Risham Majeed, Associate Professor, Department of Art, Art History, and Architectural Studies and students from the Exhibition Seminar.