Ubangi: art and cultures from the heart of Africa

Berg En Dal 14 October 2007 - 31 March 2008 

Afrika Museum, Postweg 6, Berg en Dal (near Nijmegen), The Netherlands
 www.afrikamuseum.nl 

Opening times: Monday-Friday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Yanda statue, Zande, Dem. Rep. Congo.

The end of september will see the opening of the first large temporary exhibition in the new hall: Ubangi: Art and Cultures from the Heart of Africa, followed in 2008 by the exhibition A Journey through the Spirits: Spirituality in the African Diaspora.

This exhibition Ubangi is the first of its kind in the world. It focuses on art styles that have long-since fascinated enthusiasts (including many artists from an early stage), but which has never yet been displayed collectively. This is because of the relatively small-scale production of art in the region, the distinctly abstract style that is so unusual elsewhere in Central Africa, and the extremely scant information about the makers and users of the various objects. The art nevertheless displays clearly recognisable ‘family likenesses’. This creates a strong visual cohesion, despite the vast diversity, which also appeals to non-specialists.

Ubangi Subject location

The area portrayed in the exhibition lies in the heart of Africa, on both sides of the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. The area is populated by a variety of ethnic groups all of whom speak Ubangi languages – named after the 1,000 km river that forms the border. The majority of these ethnic groups emigrated from Sudan in the course of the last three centuries. From 1800 onwards, several populations organised themselves into centralised kingdoms, but for the majority of them the level of administration stretched no further than the village itself. Despite their political differences they have common ritual customs and artistic traditions, particularly regarding the initiation of adolescents and the so-called ‘closed associations’ within which secret knowledge is acquired, preserved and transmitted. 

Ubangi Colonial meetings

Female figure, Mbanza, Dem. Rep. Congo.

This part of Africa is one of the last ‘white marks’ on the map ‘discovered’ by Europeans at the end of the 19th century. The first expeditions to this region left Khartoum in Sudan and followed the Nile; the Ubangi, a tributary of the Congo River, was not navigated until the middle of the 1880s. Photographs and objects were transported from the newly annexed regions to Europe almost from the beginning, a practice which goes on to this day. The exhibition displays a selection of photos and objects collected between 1860 and 1960. These are silent witnesses to the many colonial encounters that took place during that period. It seems that European interest in ‘souvenirs’ prompted the local production of ‘export products’ at a very early stage indeed; a significant factor to consider when determining what really is “authentic” African art. 

Ubangi Exhibits

The emphasis lies on wood sculptures, human figures between 10 and 200 cm high. Many display a tendency towards extreme stylization. Impressive masks and musical instruments and a range of ritual objects and utensils relating to the sculptures are also on display. 

Ubangi Publication

The exhibition will be officially opened and the book presented on Saturday 13 October 2007 
at 3 p.m. The exhibition will be open to the public from 14 October 2007 .


Afrika Museum, Postweg 6, Berg en Dal (near Nijmegen), The Netherlands
 www.afrikamuseum.nl 
Opening times: Monday-Friday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.


Note to the editor: For further information and/or photographic material, please contact Maike Woldring in the Communications department, tel.: (+31) (0)24 684 7276,/ M: 31 6 2377 3701
e-mail: m.relouw@afrikamuseum.nl 

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