“Afro-Atlantic Histories” completes its U.S. tour at the Dallas Museum of Art. This grandiose exhibition, on view at the museum until February 11, 2024, offers a gripping look back at the period of the transatlantic slave trade and its legacy within the African diaspora. Critically acclaimed, this artistic presentation plunges visitors into Africa’s slave-trading past and provides an insight into the scars that have shaped the continent today, constituting an essential part of its cultural heritage.
Presented by Bank of America and co-organized by the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the São Paulo Museum of Art, in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, “Afro-Atlantic Histories” highlights some 100 works of art and documents produced in Africa, America, the Caribbean and Europe, from the 17th century to the present day. Tracing the legacy of the black diaspora through works ranging from past centuries to the contemporary era, this exhibition engages visitors in a series of pertinent discussions, analyzing narratives of slavery, resilience and the struggle for liberation from a global perspective.
Jennifer Chandler, President of Bank of America Dallas, enthusiastically announces: “Today more than ever, we appreciate the power of the arts to foster human connections and encourage greater cultural understanding. Bank of America’s support of the DMA over the years, including the Afro-Atlantic Histories exhibition premiering in October, is at the heart of our commitment to championing diverse voices, enriching and educating our society, and standing up for the communities we serve. We are pleased to partner with the DMA to present Afro-Atlantic Histories, and we look forward to welcoming visitors to experience this stimulating and engaging exhibition.“
“Afro-Atlantic Histories” offers a captivating artistic exploration of the transatlantic past, taking audiences on a visual and emotional journey through Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, Europe and especially Africa. More than just an exhibition, “Afro-Atlantic Histories” highlights the diverse visual cultures of the Afro-Atlantic, the places marked by the transatlantic slave trade, its brutal movement and the forced migration of African peoples across the Atlantic Ocean. She presents a moving narrative that provokes new connections and questions, encouraging a comprehensive reassessment of Afro-Atlantic narratives.
The Dallas Museum of Art presents a juxtaposition of historical works by European artists and more recent works by artists from the African diaspora, such as Kara Walker, Hank Willis Thomas, Titus Kaphar, Firelei Báez, Zanele Muholi and Nina Chanel Abney. This thoughtful, delicate combination reflects the lingering effects of charged histories and the total reinvention of these pasts. It promotes dialogue across time and re-examines stories of slavery, resistance and the struggle for liberation from a global perspective, offering a broad and evocative account of many of the histories of the Afro-Atlantic.
Dr. Agustín Arteaga, Eugene McDermott DMA Director, comments: “We are honored to welcome this groundbreaking exhibition to Dallas and invite the community to experience an invigorating celebration and reimagining of the African diaspora. Ambitious in its scope and erudition, Afro-Atlantic Histories offers a wide range of new perspectives and a deeper understanding of links between the cultures of the Atlantic black“.
Ade Omotosho, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Nancy and Tim Hanley adds: “Afro-Atlantic Histories is a rich and revealing exploration of visual culture that offers a profoundly international vision of black aesthetic traditions. Rather than organize the works of art by chronological order, the exhibition unfolds by theme, which product slides convincing which reveal the way past past in the present “. Indeed, “Afro-Atlantic Histories” unfolds in six thematic sections, revealing works from different eras, territories and media, highlighting how the transatlantic slave trade transcends national boundaries and continues through the centuries.
Maps and Margins
The first section of the exhibition explores the beginnings of the slave trade and travel between Africa and the Americas. It highlights the creativity of artists in representing and reinterpreting the stories of this dark period. Works evoking the slave ships and the continents involved in these expeditions are presented, illustrating the forced migration that shaped an interconnected Atlantic world.
Resistance and activism
In this part of the exhibition, visitors will discover the quest for emancipation initiated by Haiti’s declaration of independence in 1804. The works presented in this art space reflect the various forms of visual protest such as demonstrations, banners, textiles and performances that circulated throughout the Black Atlantic. They have been the centerpieces in an ongoing struggle for complete and dignified emancipation.
Enslavements and Emancipations
This tab of the “Afro Atlantic Histories” exhibition focuses on the violence and terror of slavery in the context of the struggle for emancipation, highlighting resistance in narratives of slavery. The contemporary works presented in this section confront the brutality of this era by integrating historical images of slavery, evoking the horrors and traumas of these narratives, the scars of which unfortunately persist to this day.
Portraits
The section’s title offers a broad perspective on the composition of the works to be presented. It will unveil a range of portraits of black people from the 17th century to the present day. Some of the most famous Afro-Atlantic portraits in art history will also be on display, as well as those that have received no traditional recognition in American and European historical portrait galleries. This is an opportunity to highlight even the smallest sketch linked to this painful, yet inclusive, past in African cultural heritage.
Rites and Rhythms
In this section of the exhibition, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in the richness of African culture. The spiritual and musical practices that play a central role in the cultures of the Black Atlantic are highlighted, with representations of various types of music and dance, from merengue in the Dominican Republic to jazz in the USA. This section also explores the different forms of festivals, ceremonies and religious rituals across the Americas and the Caribbean, as well as the many interconnected types of entertainment.
Everyday Lives
This continuation of the exhibition immerses visitors in the everyday life of the black community in Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas during the colonial era. It includes images that reflect moments of work and leisure among the people. The paintings on offer are organized by theme and offer a dialogue between images of the black community in various settings, including farms, markets, street scenes and interiors.
The works in this section are by Europeans and Euro-Americans, who often romanticized the subordination of blacks. On the periphery are later images by artists of African descent who accurately depict the daily activities of black life in a more humanistic way, as well as highlighting the realities of racial inequality and state violence.
To provide visitors with an in-depth understanding of this pivotal period in African history, the “Afro-Atlantic Histories” exhibition is accompanied by a catalog published by DelMonico Books/Museu de Arte de São Paulo. The catalog, edited with texts by Adriano Pedrosa and Tomás Toledo, also features contributions from eminent specialists such as Ayrson Heráclito, Deborah Willis, Hélio Menezes, Kanitra Fletcher, Lilia Moritz Schwarcz and Vivian Crockett. It highlights a collection of over 400 works by some 200 artists, providing a comprehensive source of historical and artistic analysis to enrich the experience of visitors wishing to deepen their understanding of this defining period in Afro-Atlantic history.
