Africa Pop Studio

Installation view, Africa Pop Studio, Tang Teaching Museum, 2017

Namsa Leuba, Damien, from the series NGL, 2015, fibre pigment print on Dibond, edition 2 of 5, 17 x 23 2/3 inches, Tang Teaching Museum collection

Installation view, Africa Pop Studio, Tang Teaching Museum, 2017

Hassan Hajjaj, Mr. J.C.-Hayford, 2012, metallic lambda print on dibond, white frame with Papillon matchboxes, Tang Teaching Museum collection, purchased with generous funding from Nancy Herman Frehling ’65 and Leslie Cypen Diamond ’96

Omar Victor Diop, Ken, 2011, pigment inkjet print, 23 5/8 x 15 ¾ inches, Tang Teaching Museum collection, purchased with the Carter-Rodriguez Fund for Student-Curated Projects

Installation view, Africa Pop Studio, Tang Teaching Museum, 2017

Museum Educator Ginger Ertz speaks to a business class in Africa Pop Studio, Tang Teaching Museum, 2017

Africa Pop Studio explores the rich traditions and variations within African studio portraiture and considers its impact on the broader diaspora. Positioning Malick Sidibé as a source and touchstone for a new generation of artists such as Hassan Hajjaj and Mickalene Thomas, the exhibition evokes the mood of an African photography studio — a space of vibrant pattern and posed bodies.

Each piece adds its own voice to create a broader conversation in the ‘studio’ and the exhibition looks at the power of Afro-Pop across disciplines, including fashion, music, poetry, and design. Africa Pop Studio culminates in an evening of music, dance, spoken word, and West African fashions, on Saturday April 22.

Africa Pop Studio constitutes the senior thesis project for Art History major Hannah Traore ’17. This exhibition is supported by the Carter-Rodriguez Fund for Student Curated Projects and the Friends of the Tang.

Tang Museum Student Interview: Hannah Traore ‘17

Hannah Traore ‘17 on curating “Africa Pop Studio,” her senior thesis project.

A black and white photograph of a young, Black family, a man, a woman, and a child, posed in front of a white wall.

Malick Sidibé
Des chaussures pour aller danser, 1963, printed 2008
gelatin silver print

A Black woman is laying down on a couch with eyes closed wearing minimal clothing that exposes one breast. There is a blue wall behind the couch and many patterned textiles throughout the room.

Mickalene Thomas
Madame Mama Bush, 2012
chromogenic print

Malick Sidibé
Vues de dos, 2003, printed 2004
gelatin silver print, glass, paint, cardboard, tape, and string

A black and white photograph of a nude, Black individual with an afro posing in front of a flora.

Zanele Muholi
HeVi, Oslo [from Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness)], 2016
gelatin silver print

Namsa Leuba
Damien, 2015
fiber pigment print on Dibond

A photograph of a young, Black woman covered in black paint with green and purple flowers, leaves, and fruit draped around her neck and covering her head.

Atong Atem
Fruit of the Earth, 2016
digital C-print on Dibond

Phyllis Galembo
Baby Dance of Etikpe, Cross River, Nigeria, 2004
Ilfochrome on paper

A photograph of a young, Black woman in a red floral dress smiling holding a red umbrella in front of a light blue background with red and yellow flowers.

Omar Victor Diop
Ken, 2011
pigment inkjet print on Harman by Hahnemühle paper

A photograph of a Black man in a blue and orange patterned suit with pink sunglasses and shoes standing in front of a blue patterned background in a frame lined with butterfly matchboxes.

Hassan Hajjaj
Mr. J. C.-Hayford, 2012
metallic lambda print on Dibond, Papillon matchboxes in white frame

Exhibition Name

Africa Pop Studio

Exhibition Type

Student Curated

Group Exhibitions

Place

Payne Room

Dates

Apr 1, 2017 - Apr 23, 2017

Curators

Africa Pop Studio is curated by Hannah Traore ‘17.

Artists

Derrick Adams, Atong Atem, Omar Victor Diop, Phyllis Galembo, Hassan Hajjaj, Namsa Leuba, Zanele Muholi, Aida Muluneh, Malick Sidibé, Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley

Student Staff

Hannah Traore

Past Exhibitions 2017

Exhibition Name

Exhibition Type

Place

Dates

Curators

Artists

Student Staff

Student Advisory Council